The Last Shadow
by Daric LaRone
Summary: This is a fan fiction book following the parallel stories of two characters, an assassin and a thief. It is my first book, and is quite long (almost 200 pages).


Davis Tyler-Dudley The Last Shadow

_As the hand of Death grows ever stronger_

_In a land which touches the sky_

_The world's jagged teeth reaching high into the night_

_Brother is fighting brother, over the divinity of one_

_The question cannot be answered, but can the battle be won?_

_The hands of Death lay plans of death_

_For reasons most do not know_

_But in the city of kings and snow they will make their schemes known_

_The Eye, the Hand, the Staff, the World, and the prophecy in bone_

_The black hand of Death rises above, shrouding the land in darkness_

_The river runs red with Nordic blood_

_And the cold of winter chills the stones_

_The usurper will live, while others will die_

_But out of the darkness,_

_A Shadow will rise…_

**Introduction**

Because of the rather complex setting and background of this story, I feel that an introduction is needed.

_The Last Shadow_ is set on the continent of Tamriel. This land is divided into seven provinces: Cyrodiil, Skyrim, Morrowind, High Rock, Black Marsh, Hammerfell, and Elseweyr. These provinces are ruled by the Empire, which is based in Cyrodiil (the most central province). However, each retains some individual provincial rights, while other things are controlled by the Imperial government. Skyrim, where most of this story takes place, is the northernmost province and also the homeland of the Nords.

After its unification, Tamriel remained relatively peaceful under Imperial rule. However, the Thalmor had other ideas. The Thalmor were the government and military of the Aldmeri Dominion, which controlled the Summerset Isles, off the western coast of Tamriel. Tensions began to rise between the Dominion and the Empire, and eventually war broke out. The end of the war brought even more unrest, and resulted in the Stormcloak rebellion in Skyrim, in which many are fighting for the province to secede from the Empire.

**The Last Shadow**

**A Tale of Tamriel: Chapter 1**

It had been easy to sneak past the Eastmarch guards at the border outpost between Skyrim and Morrowind.

It was located in a pass between two mountains, so Lucian had had to wait until nightfall to get past them. It was snowing lightly, so he used a scroll he had stolen from one of the Alteration mages in Blacklight. It contained a simple, reusable spell that coupled with the enchantment he had had placed on his hooded and masked cloak. He opened the scroll, and his cloak began to change color to match his surroundings. It was now a mottled white and dark gray.

There were six guards at the outpost, two were patrolling, two were guarding the path, and two were presumably sleeping. He waited until the closest patrolling guard had passed, then he had stealthily crept right under the raised outpost.

That had been two hours ago. Now he was halfway to Windhelm, where he would stop and rest before setting off again. It was still snowing lightly.

Before, there had been occasional small hamlets and other people passing him on the road. Now, he had been going for a while seeing no sign of inhabitation. Lucian began to feel as if he was being watched, and kept his guard up.

He was definitely hearing small noises now. He was half Dunmer, and his sensitive ears could pick up the sounds even with the snow's noise dampening effects. They sounded like footsteps, more than one but not many. Lucian was passing through a grove of trees when a group of four bandits stepped out in front of him.

"So what do we have here, eh? Looks like you chose a bad time to get lost!" the leader said.

Lucian stopped and examined the bandits. All they could see were his eyes; the lower half of his face was covered by his mask. The bandit leader had leather armor, a steel sword, and a hide shield. Next to him was an archer, and in front of those two was a tall bandit with an iron greatsword accompanied by a shorter one with an iron axe.

"What do you say we relieve you of everything you're carrying? That cloak looks mighty nice to me."

Lucian said nothing. He had already planned what he was going to do, and now he just had to wait for the one with the axe to get a _little_ bit closer and…

Now.

Lucian pulled out a steel dagger he had sheathed in his belt and slashed the nearest bandit's throat in one fluid motion, sending a scarlet spray of blood into the air. He spun the knife in his hand so that the blade was pointing away from the bottom of his glove and pivoted around just as the one with the greatsword was pulling his arms back to swing. Lucian kicked him in his front leg to throw him off balance, and used his elbow to knock the bandit's arm off its course. He then brought the knife down into the bandit's chest from above, cutting the arteries leading into the top of his heart. Blood gushed from the fatal wound, and Lucian spun the bleeding bandit to the right.

Just in time for the bandit's body to catch an arrow intended for Lucian's neck.

The second bandit fell to the ground, dead. There were now two bodies bleeding red into the snow.

The leader ran at him now, his shield raised. Lucian glanced at the archer, who had another arrow notched. Lucian lunged at the last second and turned to the right, catching the leader by surprise and knocking him to the ground. He rolled to evade the next arrow and turned back to the leader, who was getting up. Lucian kicked him in the stomach, and grabbed his sword when he doubled over. Elbowing him in the right temple, Lucian wrenched the sword from his grip, spun around, grabbed the bandit by his left shoulder from behind, and stabbed him through his abdomen.

The bandit cried out in pain before slumping onto the ground, his sword still stuck through him.

Lucian leapt through the air towards the last bandit, knocking him to the ground. The bandit tried to draw an iron dagger, but Lucian slashed his wrist before he could.

The bandit gasped in pain, and Lucian stood up and pulled the man to his feet. He looked into the man's eyes and saw pure terror.

"Go, spread the word. Tell every bandit and lowlife you talk to that they have something to fear. The Shadow has come to Skyrim." He turned and began to walk away.

"Wait," the bandit asked, "what are you?"

Lucian turned and kept his cold, emotionless gaze locked with the man's eyes.

"Your worst nightmare."

**2**

Alix looked out the window of his cell in the Riften Jail at the gray sky above. He smiled. If you had to take a guess what the weather would be like in Riften on any given day, it would probably be cloudy.

Alix was a thief, and a Breton. He had crossed the border into Skyrim from High Rock a few months back, and had almost made it to Markarth. However, he had been captured by the Forsworn, a group of tribal terrorists, and taken to one of their camps. Luckily, he had been able to escape before being sacrificed to the Hagravens, man-eating monsters who the Forsworn had allied with.

After that, Alix had moved from city to city, pickpocketing and stealing from each as he went. Each time, he had been able to get out of the Hold before the guards realized something was up. Each time except for this one.

The night after he had arrived in Riften, the most corrupt city in Skyrim, he had found something unusual in one of the vendor's stalls he was stealing from. This particular stall belonged to a man named Brynjolf, and apparently he sold potions. Alix had picked the lock on the strongbox only to find that there was no gold inside. But, on closer inspection, there was something in the box after all; A note.

_We're going to hit the fishery warehouse at midnight. They just received a shipment of gold, some of which we will be relieving them of._

The note was dated for today.

Alix looked up at the clock tower in Mistveil Keep. It was almost ten o'clock now, and the fishery warehouse was only five minutes away.

Five minutes later, he had reached the warehouse without incident. He picked the lock to get inside and went in. If his luck held, he would be able to get in, grab the gold, and get out before whoever else was coming even got through the door.

He went further into the building and found an unlocked door. He walked through and saw a chest.

_Easy._

He walked over to the chest and felt for the lock. To his surprise, there wasn't one.

_Too easy._

He opened the chest. There was no gold inside, just a piece of paper with a symbol on it.

_Not good._

There was a crash and the sound of running footsteps coming towards the door.

_Not good at all._

Four guards ran through the door.

"By the order of the Jarl, stop right there!"

Alix raised his hands to show he had no drawn weapons.

"Come with us, you're going to the Riften Jail!"

And that's how he had ended up here.

The guards had escorted him to the jail, confiscated his lockpicks, and thrown him in a cell.

Now he was waiting. He didn't know how long they would keep him here, they hadn't told him.

Alix heard someone clearing their throat behind him, and turned around.

"Hello, lad. The name's Brynjolf, and I'm your way out of here."

**3**

The rest of Lucian's trip was uneventful. He reached Windhelm quickly and safely after the fight with the bandits. It was still dark out as he walked up to the city's gates.

"State your business," one of the guards said.

"I'm just here to rest for the night and get something to eat. I've never been to Windhelm before, but I'm sure you have an inn." Lucian dropped the dark, menacing voice in an attempt to seem less threatening, which was not exactly something he was good at.

"Well, alright, stay out of trouble. Candlehearth Hall will probably be where you'll want to go." the guard replied in his strong Nordic accent.

They opened the gate for him, and he walked through. Windhelm was a big city, about as big as Mournhold, the capital of Morrowind. Looking at the architecture, he could see why it was often called "The City of Stone".

Lucian presumed the big, inn-type building in front of him was Candlehearth Hall, so he walked towards it. He opened the big doors, and a blast of warmth washed over him. He walked inside and sat down at the bar.

The bartender walked over to him, "Would you like anything to eat or drink?" she asked

"I'll have some mead, and anything warm to eat will be fine. Also, I'd like to rent a room for a night."

The bartender nodded and brought him a meal. He thanked her and paid for the food, drink, and room. As he began to eat, two of the men in the Hall gave his garb odd looks.

"Hey, what type of armor is that? I don't think I've never seen that style before."

Lucian looked up, "It's Netch Leather armor," he lied.

"Where's it from?"

Lucian hesitated before answering, "Morrowind."

"So you're a Dark Elf?"

It suddenly got quiet in the inn. All eyes turned to look at the scene unfolding.

Lucian hesitated again, "Half."

"What do you mean half?" the man's demeanor was becoming more inhospitable by the second.

"I'm half Dark Elf."

"Well half or full, there's no Elves allowed in Candlehearth Hall! Get out and go back to Morrowind! We don't need any more of your kind in Windhelm; you already filled up the Gray Quarter!"

The bartender turned to him and held out the gold he had given her for the room. At least she seemed nice enough.

The angry Nord grabbed the gold before Lucian had taken it. "Consider that a favor instead of me smashing your face in!" he yelled.

Lucian could tell that things were getting out of control. He was certain that he could take the angry man down if it came to a fight, but he didn't want the rest of the people in the room joining in. He had already made up his mind, though, that he wasn't going to kill the man.

Even though that would probably be the easiest solution,

"Now get out!" the man yelled again.

"Give me back my gold." Lucian retorted.

"Get out of here! Leave!"

"I'm not leaving," Lucian said menacingly, "until you give me back my gold."

"That's it!"

The man threw a punch at Lucian, but he was already up and out of his chair before he knocked the man's arm off course, before bringing his own fist directly into the man's face. It happened very quickly, and the man hadn't been expecting it. He lurched backwards and fell over a bar stool. The gold flew up into the air, and Lucian caught it before it hit the ground. He put it in his pocket, turned, and walked out.

When he got outside, there was a young Dunmer woman looking at him.

"I heard the yelling, and I figured they were kicking you out. If you need a place to stay, my brother owns a smaller inn in the Gray Quarter," she said.

"Well, thanks. Nice to see that someone in this city doesn't seem to hate me," Lucian replied.

The woman smiled. "My name is Keri, by the way. I'll take you to my brother's inn."

**4**

"You see, lad, I represent the Thieves Guild. We are, somewhat obviously, thieves. But we're also a business. We're based here in Riften, but we do jobs all over Skyrim. In the guild, we look after each other, we work together, and we split the profits. And we simply can't have someone like you going around Skyrim, infringing on Thieves Guild work. You've probably already figured out that we set you up and tipped off the guards."

"Well then why are you here?" Alix asked

"Because, you're a thief, and a good one at that. I think you would do well in the Guild."

"Well, if it means you're getting me out of prison, I guess I'm in."

"Oh, no, no, no," Brynjolf smiled, "I'm not getting you out of prison; you have to do that on your own. But, that doesn't mean I can't give you a little help."

Brynjolf handed him the container he kept his lockpicks in. Sure enough, it had the lockpicks the guards had confiscated from Alix when they brought him here.

"When you get out, we're based in the Ragged Flagon, in the Ratway beneath Riften. Make it there in one piece, and you're in." Brynjolf said as he melted into the shadows.

Alix quickly went to work. He broke one lockpick opening his cell door, but he soon was out. He quietly closed the door and crept out into the hallway. He waited for a passing guard to walk by, and then went out the door.

"Easy enough," Alix muttered quietly to himself.

Mercifully, he encountered no more guards on his way out. He walked outside into a light rain.

Ironically, when he had first arrived in Riften, one of the guards had warned him to keep out of the Ratway, down on the lower level.

Alix made his way down to the lower walkway, cautiously avoiding any guards.

He walked by a door and noticed that it had the same symbol that had been on the note etched into the stone next to it.

_That must be it._

Alix opened the door and went inside. It was dark and damp, only dimly illuminated by a few torches further down the tunnels. He closed the door behind him and continued on. It was pretty easy to follow the lit tunnels to where, presumably, the Ragged Flagon would be located. He came to another door, opened it, and walked through. He was in a darker room, with another door at the end. He walked towards it when he saw something moving out of the corner of his eye.

It came towards him fast, and he barely had time to duck before the man's fist sailed over his head. Alix backpedaled out of the way of the man's next strike. The man jumped out of the shadows, yelling loudly. He was wearing a torn tunic and appeared insane. Alix blocked his next blow, but his arm went numb when the man's glove hit it. Alix quickly hit the man in the stomach with his good arm and grabbed him before he could attack again. The man stank, badly.

He was now screaming unintelligibly. Alix pivoted around and slammed the man into the wall. His head smacked against the stone and he fell to the ground, unconscious. Alix bent down to examine his gloves, there was a faint telltale aura surrounding them that showed they were enchanted. He took them with him and continued on towards the Ragged Flagon.

The rest of the way was much the same, but thankfully without any crazed lunatics trying to attack him. Soon he reached a doorway with a sign above it denoting that it led to the Ragged Flagon. He opened the door and went in.

He was inside a large room. It contained little, other than some tables and a bar on one end. The other side was lower down and filled with water. He walked towards the tables across a walkway over the water.

A man with a war axe blocked the other side, "Hold it kid, nobody just gets to come inside the Ragged Flagon unless you're doing business with or you're part of the Thieves Guild."

Alix stopped but a voice spoke up behind the man, "It's okay, Dirge, let him in."

Dirge sighed, "Whatever you say, Brynjolf." He moved out of the way and Alix walked over to where Brynjolf was sitting with a man and woman he didn't recognize. Brynjolf motioned for him to come over and Alix took a seat in the chair across from him.

"Well, it seems you found me here, so I guess that means you want to join the Guild. You seem to be good enough, in my opinion, but I'm only second in command. These two are Delvin and Vex, by the way. They're Guild lieutenants, and they'll train you as well as provide you with most of your jobs. Tonilia, over there, is our fence," Brynjolf pointed to a Redguard woman sitting by a chest, "she'll buy just about anything you bring that doesn't exactly belong to you. She'll also sell you some tools of the trade you might need."

Delvin spoke up, "Well, if you're done talking to him I guess we better show him to Mercer."

"Who is Mercer?" Alix asked

"Mercer Frey is the Guildmaster; he'll make the decision whether you can join or not." Vex answered.

"Okay."

"Well then, mate, come with us and we'll introduce you to the big man." Delvin said.

The trio got up and walked towards another door, and Alix followed.

**5**

Lucian was well rested the next morning. He got out of bed and got dressed before walking downstairs. Keri was already there at the bar.

"Would you like some breakfast?" she asked

"Yes, thank you,"

Lucian ate quickly and then paid for his food. He thanked Keri for helping him and then left. He walked outside, and the bright sunlight momentarily blurred his vision. When his sight cleared, he tensed up immediately.

"Well look at you! You thought you could just hit me like that and then run away without letting me hit back? Well I don't know how you did things back in Morrowind, but here in Skyrim we've got a little something called honor!" it was the Nord from Candlehearth Hall, and it looked like he'd brought friends.

"That's a lot of honor you have there, to bring three men to help you get your revenge on one." Lucian retorted.

"It doesn't matter, you don't even belong in our city, and we've come to teach you a lesson!"

Lucian sighed. He wasn't going to kill the man or his friends; there were two guards down the street who would try to arrest him.

The man pulled back his fist to throw a punch, but Lucian darted past him and elbowed him in the stomach before taking off down the street. The rest of the men took off after him. Lucian sprinted past the shops that lined the streets of the Gray Quarter.

He set off across a walkway and ducked behind a column. The group of men ran by a few seconds later without noticing him. They would come back looking for him, so he needed a place to hide. There was a door to a house adjacent to the walkway, and to his surprise it was slightly ajar. He heard footsteps and realized the men were coming back towards him, so he darted inside the door. He closed it quietly and waited.

Lucian heard a noise coming from one of the rooms of the house. It sounded strange, and he realized it was someone chanting. He listened closely to the words.

_"Sweet Mother! Sweet Mother! Send your child unto me, for the sins of the unworthy must be baptized in blood and fear!"_

It was being repeated over and over again. Lucian crept silently up the stairs and looked into the room the chanting was coming from.

There was a boy about ten years old kneeling on the floor. In front of him were human bones aligned in a pattern. The boy stopped chanting and looked up at Lucian.

"It's you! You finally came! The assassin from the Dark Brotherhood!"

"Whoa, um, I th-" Lucian tried to reply before the kid cut him off.

"My name is Aventus Aretino. I summoned you to kill Grelod the Kind at the Honorhall Orphanage in Riften. You see, after my mom died, they sent me to the orphanage there. Grelod the Kind is the headmistress there, but she's not kind at all! She abuses us and doesn't give us enough food and she never lets any of us get adopted! She's so sick she enjoys being cruel to us! That's why I ran away and came back to my old house. But now you're here, and you can kill Grelod!"

Lucian closed his eyes. No one should have to go through that.

"I'll do it."

**6**

Brynjolf, Delvin, Vex, and Alix walked into the Ragged Flagon Cistern. Alix looked around.

"Now that's more like it," He smiled

"What?" Delvin asked

"I was starting to think that 'The Guild' was just four thieves sitting in a bar in the sewers." Alix said jokingly.

The Cistern was a large, open room. A circular walkway made a ring around the water filled area in the middle. Beds were lined up around the middle, and connecting tunnels snaked off into other rooms. There were more members of the Guild here, some training, others talking.

They walked up to a tall man standing behind a desk. He seemed to be drawing up plans for something. Brynjolf moved closer to him.

"Hello, Mercer."

"What is it, Brynjolf? You know I'm very busy." He replied

"We've got a new applicant for the Guild."

Mercer glanced up at Alix and looked him over.

"Hmm. You know we're not looking for new recruits, why is he here?"

"He's the one you've been hearing about, you know? The guy that moves from city to city, stealing from everyone?" Brynjolf replied

"And?"

"I think he might be just the right one for the Goldenglow Estate job."

"Well then. If he does it, and he does it right, he's in." Mercer handed Alix a map. "That's a map of Goldenglow Estate and the surrounding areas. The others will fill you in on the rest." Mercer turned and went back to his work.

Brynjolf turned to Alix.

"Look, lad, this is going to be your first job with us, so you better not botch it up. You're going to go to Goldenglow Estate, which is located on a little island in the middle of Lake Honrich. The owner of the place, a Wood-Elf named Aringoth, supplies honey to Maven Black-Briar, one of our main clients, for the Black-Briar Meadery. Lately though, he's been cheating Maven out of a portion of the shipment, and sending it to a rival company. We need to teach him a lesson, so your job is to break into the estate, burn one of his beehives, and then clear out his safe. You'll need to get in there quietly, because the elf hires guards to protect the estate. But remember, we're thieves, not murderers. Do not kill Aringoth unless it is absolutely necessary, understood?"

Alix smiled, "Got it."

**7**

Lucian stole one of the horses at the Windhelm stables for transport to Riften. He decided it was necessary because he did not have enough money with him to buy one. And besides, it wasn't as if the people of Windhelm had been very hospitable to him, for the most part.

It was now starting to get dark as he set off on the road to Riften. He was making good time, and there had been no outside interference so far.

He was riding up a hill when he saw movement ahead. There were three figures walking in his direction. The one in the front had hooded Thalmor robes. The two behind him were dressed in elven armor, both armed with bows. All three were high elves. They were Thalmor, agents of the Aldmeri Dominion. These three appeared to be Justicars, charged with making sure the Nords followed the Thalmor's rules.

When the Empire and the Aldmeri Dominion had clashed six years ago, the results had been catastrophic. Tamriel was engulfed in a huge war between the two major powers of the land. The Thalmor eventually fought their way to the Imperial City in Cyrodiil, where a massive battle was fought. Many died on both sides, but eventually the Empire, already weakened by the Oblivion Crisis, succumbed and sued for peace. The fighting stopped, but the Thalmor forced the Emperor to agree to a set of terms known as the White-Gold Concordat. These terms forced the Empire to, among other things, disband the Emperor's private agency (The Blades), cede large parts of Hammerfell and High Rock to the Aldmeri Dominion, and outlaw the worship of Talos. It was the last part that angered the Nords of Skyrim so much. Talos was a Nord of great tactical and combat prowess, and he was the first to unite Tamriel and create the Empire. As the first Emperor, he was named Tiber Septim, and started the Septim dynasty of Emperors. When Talos died, he was made a god by the Aedra and became the Ninth Divine. The Nords of Skyrim held Talos as their patron, and greatly revered him. The High Elves, however, refused to believe that Tiber Septim, a man, had ascended into divinity. They also refused to accept that Martin Septim saved the entire world, including the Aldmeri Dominion, from the Oblivion Crisis.

The elves walked towards where he was standing, they hadn't seen him yet. Lucian then noticed that they were pulling someone else along who was handcuffed. It was Keri from Windhelm. Lucian quickly hid his horse and ducked behind a boulder.

He didn't know why they had Keri, but he was going to rescue her. Lucian had no love for the Thalmor.

He waited until they had walked past his hiding spot, and then he snuck out behind them. The elf in the back of the group had two daggers sheathed in his belt. They were Elven made, so Lucian knew they were of good quality. He went closer behind him, then reached up and clamped his hand over the elf's mouth before slitting his throat from behind. The elf fell to his knees, and Lucian pulled the two daggers out of his belt and sheathed his own. The other two Thalmor turned around now, and drew their weapons. The one closest to Lucian pulled out his bow and started to notch an arrow. The robed Thalmor had spells in both hands, so he was a mage. Lucian jumped forward and landed on the archer. As they fell to the ground, Lucian stabbed both of his new daggers into the elf's chest. The last Thalmor shot a firebolt at Lucian, who ducked beneath it. Before Lucian could attack, the mage shot a fireball at Lucian with both hands. It exploded next to him and he fell to the ground. The elf grabbed Keri and started running before Lucian got back up. Lucian stood up and turned around. He grabbed an elven bow from one of the dead Thalmor, and took the arrows from both of them. He notched an arrow and lined up his shot.

The Thalmor mage was still running, and he was about fifty feet away now.

Lucian moved the bow slightly upward, and loosed the arrow. It flew in a slight arc before punching through the elf's heart. The mage stopped suddenly and fell forward into the snow. A pool of blood grew slowly from the fatal wound.

Lucian ran down the hill to where Keri was standing.

"Thank you! Thank you so much."

"What happened?" Lucian asked.

"After you left they came and said I had to come with them. I don't even know why! I didn't do anything wrong."

"Can you get back to Windhelm on your own?"

"Yes, I think I can. Thank you again for saving me." Lucian handed her one of his old daggers, and Keri turned to start walking back to Windhelm.

Lucian walked back and mounted his horse. He had a job to do.

As he rode on into The Rift, he noticed the change in the environment. The snow had disappeared, and it was getting warmer. The sky was gray, and the air was humid. The trees had changed some, and were now more common.

He could see Riften up ahead, next to the huge, dark shape of Lake Honrich. He rode up to the gates and dismounted his horse.

"Hold it there, citizen! All visitors to the city must pay the visitors' tax."

"How much?" Lucian asked

"100 gold to get into the city."

"You've got to be kidding me. This is obviously a shakedown."

The guard tensed up. "All right, all right, just keep your voice down. You can go inside."

The guards opened the gate and Lucian went in.

Riften reminded Lucian of some of the towns in Morrowind. A river ran through the center, and the houses and stores were on either side of it. Several bridges and walkways lined the river. A pale mist hung in the dark, wet air.

Lucian walked across the nearest bridge towards the orphanage. He went up to it and slipped inside.

"Anyone who's bunk isn't spic and span gets and extra beating tonight! Does everyone understand?"

"Yes Grelod." The children answered somberly.

"Do you think Aventus will come back?" one of the children asked.

Grelod turned and slapped him in the face. "Don't you talk about that little brat! If he comes back, He'll have no food for the week and extra beatings for a year!"

"What if he got adopted?"

"No one will ever adopt you worthless brats! No one wants you!"

"But what if-"

"That's enough!" Grelod screamed. "No food for any of you tomorrow! And you," she turned to the child who had been asking the questions, "You get an extra thrashing tonight!"

Grelod grabbed a large wooden rod from the wall. "Everyone line up for their beatings!"

Lucian now noticed that all the children had bruises and signs of abuse all over them. He had been staying in the shadows, so no one had seen him yet. Grelod raised the rod and turned towards the first orphan. She was whimpering and cowering as Grelod prepared to swing. Grelod swiped the rod down towards the child.

But a gloved hand caught it.

All the children gasped as the Shadow stepped into full view. Grelod screamed and drew an iron dagger from her belt as she lunged at him.

Lucian hadn't been expecting that.

He dodged her strike, and drew his own daggers. She swung at him again and Lucian parried the blow in one swift move before plunging his right hand dagger into Grelod's heart.

She gasped in surprise before falling over, dead.

The children stood, awestruck. And then, to Lucian's surprise, they began to cheer.

Lucian quickly slipped out of the building as the children rejoiced over the death of their tormenter. The orphanage assistants ran into the room.

"How quickly innocence is lost," Lucian thought to himself as he stealthily fled the scene.

**8**

Alix crept out of the waters of Lake Honrich onto the somewhat marshy grounds of Goldenglow Estate. He could see three guards patrolling the area near him. To his left were the beehives, and to his right was the manor where Aringoth lived. The guards were mercenaries, and wore fur armor. He would probably be able to sneak past them.

Alix stayed in the shadows, moving from cover to cover towards the beehives. He would light one of them on fire, and then use that as a distraction to get inside the manor. Vex had told him there was a sewer pipe leading into the building that could be accessed from outside, so that was how he would get inside. Alix moved closer to the beehives. He could now see the sewer pipe in the reflection from the moonlight, so he had an entry plan. He quickly lit the torch he was carrying and threw it into the closest beehive. It caught fire quickly, and several of the mercenaries ran towards it. Alix dove into the water and swam to the sewage pipe.

The grate covering to the pipe wasn't locked, so Alix pulled it open and went inside. It was dark and wet, and Alix had to move in a crouch to fit through it. He moved quietly through the pipe, until he came to another grate. This one was unlocked also, and he now appeared to be in the manor's basement. Brynjolf had told him that Aringoth's safe was probably in the basement, so it looked like this job was going to be easier than he had thought.

Alix moved down a hallway and opened a door. Inside was Aringoth's safe. Alix smiled and walked over to it. He put a lockpick in the lock, but when he started to turn with his tension wrench the pick broke almost immediately.

Alix cursed quietly and turned back around. The lock on the safe was too good for him to pick. He would need the key. And Aringoth had the key.

Alix crept back down the hallway and up the stairs leading to the next level. He quietly opened the door and walked in. He began to go up the stairs to Aringoth's bedroom when he heard footsteps coming down them.

Alix quickly ducked behind cover as one of the mercenaries walked down the stairs and into the basement.

_Great, he's got guards inside too. _

Alix turned and began sneaking up the stairs again. He came across another hallway leading to Aringoth's bedroom. There was another guard sitting at a table drinking mead next to the door. Alix couldn't slip past him, he was too close. The guard got up and walked to the bathroom. Unfortunately, he would probably be back before Alix was out of the bedroom. Fortunately, Alix had bought a potion from Tonilia that he thought might come in handy. The potion would make anyone fall asleep in just a few seconds. Alix moved to the table and poured some of the potion into the man's mead before creeping back to his hiding place.

The man came back and sat down. He took a large swig of his mead. The mercenary had a confused look on his face as he passed out.

Alix smiled and quietly opened the door to Aringoth's bedroom.

The wood elf was sleeping in a large bed, and snoring loudly. Alix could see the key on his belt and slipped silently over to him. He reached out and took hold of the key. Aringoth shifted. Alix gently lifted the key off of him and realized he had been holding his breath. He slipped out of the room, the mercenary was still unconscious. Alix walked down the stairs and opened the door to the basement. He went down the hallway, but a mercenary was standing in front of the door. This time he wasn't drinking anything, so Alix couldn't use the same trick he had done before. There were some small rocks on the ground, and he had an idea.

Alix picked up one of the rocks and threw it down another hallway. The mercenary looked up. Alix threw another rock, and the mercenary went to investigate the noise. When he walked past Alix's hiding place, Alix slipped behind him and went into the room containing the safe. He unlocked it with the key. Inside was the bill of sale for the estate, and a large bag of gold septims, both of which he took. He heard the mercenary walk back down the hallway and lean against the door.

Well, that meant he had one option.

Alix slammed into the door and knocked it open. The mercenary fell forward and smacked his head against the wall. Alix ran out of the room and sprinted down the hallway towards the sewer grate. Another mercenary stepped out in front of him, and Alix punched him in the face and pushed past him. He came to the sewer grate, opened it and went inside. He moved quickly through the pipe and came out onto the other side. Mercenaries were running around now, the alarm had been raised. Alix jumped into the black water and swam towards the shore. It took him a few minutes to get there, and by that time he was freezing cold. He crawled out of the water, dried himself best he could, and continued on towards Riften.

It was time to report back to the Thieves Guild.

**9**

Lucian rode to Shor's Stone, a small settlement northwest of Riften. There was an inn there, and he decided to stay for the night.

After he had killed Grelod the Kind, the Shadow had fled the city. Luckily, no one had suspected it was him immediately, but Lucian had left before anyone had a chance to think it through.

Lucian went into the inn, had some food and drink, and rented a room. It was dark outside now, and Lucian was tired from today's activities. Before he could lie down to sleep, however, someone knocked on his door. He opened it, and a courier came into view.

"Someone told me to deliver this to you. It was a creepy fella, and he didn't give his name." the courier gave Lucian a note and left.

Lucian closed the door and opened the note. There was an imprint of a hand covered in blood, and a message.

There were two words.

_ We Know. _

Lucian woke up in what appeared to be a small shack; the walls were spattered with blood. He didn't know how he had gotten here.

"Well, well, you're finally awake."

Lucian turned around. There was a woman sitting behind him dressed in assassin armor. She had a masked hood that covered the lower part of her face, similar to Lucian's.

Lucian narrowed his eyes but said nothing.

"Well, I represent the Dark Brotherhood. When you came upon Aventus Aretino performing the Black Sacrament, he was praying to us. We're assassins, and when someone performs the Sacrament we kill who they want us to, provided they'll pay us, of course. And that kill, however small, belongs to us. You see, that contract was for the Dark Brotherhood, and you stole it. And since you took a kill, you're going to have to repay us one."

"What am I supposed to do?" Lucian asked

"Why, you are going to kill someone for us. Turn around."

Lucian turned and saw three figures kneeling on the ground. Their hands were tied behind their backs, and they had execution masks covering their heads.

"There is a contract out for one of these three. Find out which one it is, and kill them."

Lucian started to reach for his daggers.

"I wouldn't try that. You may be good, but I assure you, I'm better. Stand up and walk over to them."

Lucian did as he was told, he had no other choice.

"Now you can pull out your daggers. Remember, the contract is only for one of them."

Lucian turned to the figures. One of them was a Khajit, a cat person from Elsweyr. The next was a woman dressed in fancy clothes. The last appeared to be a mercenary of some sort. Lucian started with him.

"Who are you?" Lucian asked.

"My name is Bjorn."

His voice sounded familiar, but Lucian couldn't place it.

"And what do you do, Bjorn?"

"I'm," the man hesitated before answering, "I'm a bandit."

Lucian was surprised; he thought he had now placed the voice.

"And what hold were you mainly in, Bjorn?"

The bandit hesitated again before answering, "Eastmarch,"

Lucian walked around and looked at his right wrist. Sure enough, there was the wound Lucian had given him during the fight in the forest.

"Who are you?" Bjorn asked.

"I am Lucian the Shadow."

Bjorn registered the meaning, and jumped back, hitting the wall.

"Not you! Not you!"

The Dark Brotherhood assassin was surprised, she hadn't expected this.

Lucian grimaced and slashed both daggers through Bjorn's throat simultaneously. The elven metal cut cleanly, and a flower of blood spurted out. Bjorn slumped forward and exsanguinated.

Lucian sheathed his daggers and turned to the assassin. She was clapping slowly.

"Was he the right one?" Lucian asked

"It doesn't matter. What matters is I told you to kill someone, and you did."

"No, I only kill bad people. I only kill the ones that deserve it." Lucian replied

The assassin thought for a few seconds before responding.

"That will work. My name is Astrid, and I am the leader of the Dark Brotherhood sanctuary here in Skyrim. You will find it in the southern pine forest west of Falkreath. When the Black Door asks you the question, the answer is 'silence, my brother'. Meet me there whenever you like. I'll be waiting."

Lucian nodded.

"Oh and you're free to leave. The door is unlocked. You're in Hjaalmarch Hold, by the way. Morthal is a thirty minute walk south of here." Astrid pointed to the door of the shack, and Lucian walked out.

It was cold outside, but it wasn't snowing. He appeared to be in some sort of brackish marsh, partially covered by ice.

Lucian began walking to the south towards Morthal.

**10**

Alix walked back into the Ragged Flagon, where Brynjolf was waiting.

"Well, look who's back! Did you bring what you were supposed to?"

"I did." Alix answered

"Great! What was in the safe?" Brynjolf asked

"The Goldenglow Estate bill of sale and some gold."

"Alright, give the bill of sale to Mercer, and you can keep the gold. Good job, lad."

Alix walked into the Cistern and handed the bill of sale to Mercer Fray. Mercer nodded approvingly.

"It looks like you've got what it takes, kid. Consider yourself an honorary member of the Thieves Guild. You can go talk to Tonilia about getting the armor.

Alix thanked Mercer and walked back into the Ragged Flagon to Tonilia.

"Mercer said to come to you about getting Thieves Guild armor."

"Well, well, so you're officially one of us now. I'm Tonilia; I don't think we've been properly introduced. I'm the fence for the Thieves Guild down here, so I'll buy pretty much anything you steal. I can also supply you with some tools of the trade. Anyway, here's your armor."

Alix looked at the Thieves Guild armor. The set contained leather armor, boots, gloves, and a hood. It looked well-made and was obviously made for stealth. Alix put the armor on, and it fit comfortably. He could move quickly and quietly, and the armor seemed to provide good protection as well.

"I like it."

"Good, I'm glad you do," said Tonilia

Brynjolf walked over to Alix with Delvin and Vex by his side.

"Well, lad, are you ready for your next job?" Brynjolf said

"Wait just one bleedin' minute," Delvin said jokingly, "You don't get to keep him all to yourself!"

"Yeah, he gets to do jobs for Delvin and I too," Vex added

Brynjolf smiled, "In that case, I guess you'll have more than one job to pick from. As I said earlier though, are you ready for a new one?"

Alix laughed, "You know, I think I'm really starting to like you guys."

**11**

Lucian arrived in Morthal. It was a quiet town, but it had a slightly eerie, creepy feeling that Lucian didn't like. There was a man with a horse drawn carriage there, and Lucian asked him how much it would cost for a ride to Falkreath.

"Well, it just so happens that I was going there anyway to pick up some timber. I'm something of a wood merchant. If you've got five septims, you can ride in the back on the way there."

"Thanks," Lucian handed him the money, "How long is the ride there?"

"About three hours, probably," the man replied

Lucian nodded and hopped in the back of the cart. They started heading south.

Lucian was pretty well rested, and there were clouds in the morning sky. When they left Hjaalmarch, the environment changed. They were now on a wide plain as they passed out of the old growth forests in the southern part of the province. Lucian could see the city of Whiterun to his left. It was situated on a hill, and overlooked the plains of Whiterun Hold. His front view was dominated by a massive mountain. Though it wasn't as _large_ as the Red Mountain Volcano on the island of Vardenfell in Morrowind, it was definitely taller than it.

"That there's the highest mountain in all of Tamriel, Skyrim's own Throat of the World. The monastery of High Hrothgar is up on the summit. That's where the Greybeards live."

"Who are the Greybeards?" Lucian asked

"The Greybeards are mysterious monks who practice the way of the Voice. I don't know much about them. I don't think many do."

They passed through the plains and began to go around the right side of the mountain.

"Up ahead is Skyrim's Pine Forest. Falkreath is located in there, near the border with Cyrodiil."

They continued on until the forest was visible ahead of them. The man pointed towards a spot near the bottom of the mountain's slope.

"Over there's Helgen. It's a nice village; I've been there a couple times."

Lucian looked to where the man had pointed and squinted. It looked like there was a lot of smoke coming from it. Lucian turned back and looked towards the plains of Whiterun Hold. Something caught his eye.

It looked like there was something moving above the plains. It looked big, and it was flying. It looked black, but he couldn't be sure. And just as fast as it had come, the thing was gone. Lucian began to think about what it had been, when he heard a wolf howl very close to them.

The carriage stopped as two wolves appeared out of the forest in front of them.

The man looked surprised, "Uh oh,"

The wolves ran towards the carriage as Lucian readied his bow. He notched an arrow and loosed it at the closest wolf. The arrow sank into the wolf's chest and found its heart. The wolf's heart spurted blood out of the wound before the animal collapsed on the ground, dead. The other wolf kept running. The carriage driver got out and drew an axe from his belt, but he wasn't fast enough. The wolf jumped up at the horse, but Lucian already had another arrow notched. The arrow caught the wolf mid-leap, punching into its brain and killing it instantly. Lucian relaxed for a moment, but a growl from behind him kicked his mind back into combat mode. A third wolf jumped towards Lucian in the back of the cart, and he didn't have time to notch an arrow. He dropped his bow and drew one of his daggers. The wolf lunged at him, and Lucian slashed his blade at it, cutting a large gash on the animal's side. He kicked it off the cart, and was about to finish the animal off when the carriage driver killed it with his axe.

"Wow, you're good!" the man told Lucian

Lucian shrugged and sat back down. They started off again, and arrived in Falkreath without any other trouble. Lucian thanked the driver and quietly slipped off. He would visit Falkreath later, but right now he was going to find the Sanctuary. He walked to the west through the forest. He had been walking for about ten minutes when he noticed something to his right. It was cleverly concealed behind foliage.

Lucian walked up to the door. It was black, and had a carving of a skull on it. The door appeared to be made of some sort of black stone. He walked closer, and was about to knock when the door _spoke_.

"_What is the music of life?_"

Lucian was shocked and did not reply for a few seconds, but then he remembered the response.

"Silence, my brother," he said

The door slid open, revealing a hallway leading down. The stone walls were lined with torches, and there was a banner on one side with the imprint of a hand. Lucian decided that that was probably the symbol of the Dark Brotherhood. He walked down the stairs to another room. There was a table in the middle, and a bookshelf on one side. Astrid was leaning against the wall, and she no longer had on her masked hood.

"Hello, it's good to see you again, Lucian. I'm glad you decided to come. Follow me and I'll show you around."

Lucian followed Astrid into a large room. It looked like a natural cave that had been modified and formed by the Dark Brotherhood to suit their needs. There was a small waterfall flowing into a large pool on the ground, so Lucian thought that was probably their source of drinking water. Astrid walked over to a group of people standing in the center of the room.

"Well Lucian, I'd like you to meet the other members of this Dark Brother hood Sanctuary."

Astrid introduced him to the other assassins. There was Arnbjorn, a tall Nord with a steel battle-axe. Veezara was an Argonian swordsman; he had been trained as a Shadowscale assassin since birth in Black Marsh. Gabriella was a Dark Elf with an ebony bow. Nazir was a Redguard from the Alik'r Desert who arranged many of their contracts. Festus Krex was a mage who used magic to kill his targets. The last one was Babette, who appeared to be only about ten years old.

Babette began speaking before Lucian could ask about her age.

"Oh don't be put off by my appearance. I'm older than you, much older. But then again, Vampirism will do that to you." she smiled at him, showing two short fangs where her canines had been.

"Well, now that you've met the crew I guess we should supply you with the outfit." Astrid held out a pair of shoes and gloves, "I see you've already got yourself some good armor and a nice hood, so here are some gloves and shoes you might find helpful. The shoes are specially made to help you walk silently, and the gloves are perfectly suited for gripping a dagger or bow."

Lucian put on his new equipment.

"Well, I guess you're ready for your first contract now." Astrid said

"Remember, I only kill bad people. They know who I am."

"I know," Astrid smiled, "You're the Shadow."

**12**

Alix had a new mission. He was to break into the Windhelm guardhouse to bust someone out of the jail there. He was one of their clients who had recently been caught in Windhelm and thrown in jail for embezzlement. Alix was to break him out and see that he got to Riften safely. The client was a friend of Maven Black-Briar, and one of her suppliers as well. This made him a doubly important asset.

He would leave today at nine o'clock and break out the prisoner at twelve. He would take two Guild horses, his own and one for the client. It was twelve o' clock now, so he had some time to wait. Alix had decided he would take a nap before leaving, so he did.

"Lucian, I have your first mission for me." Astrid said

Lucian looked up.

"I know you only kill the bad people, and I found one. There's a man in the Windhelm jail who was locked up for embezzling money. The money was supposed to go to, among other places, better housing and help for the impoverished Dark Elves in the Gray Quarter. He's in jail now, but people are going to get him out of there. Let's just say that he has a lot of friends. His name is Sabjorn. I think you'll know which one he is when you see him. It's a long trip, so you can take the Brotherhood's horse, Shadowmere. He's very special, and the fastest, most enduring horse you'll ever ride, for one thing."

Lucian nodded.

"You should leave now; you'll want to get there as quickly as possible."

Lucian walked up the stairs and out of the Sanctuary. He opened the door and looked around. Over to the left, a shape materialized out of the shadows. Lucian realized it was the horse, Shadowmere. Shadowmere was a large, black horse with red eyes. His saddle was emblazoned with the symbol of the Dark Brotherhood.

Lucian mounted him and set off to the east.

Alix woke a few hours later. He readied his gear and equipment and climbed up the ladder out of the Cistern. Alix saddled up one of the Guild horses, and tied another to his. He set off towards Windhelm.

He arrived there two hours later without incident and hid the horses outside the city gates. It was eleven o'clock, and he would break the prisoner out in an hour. Alix took this time to observe the guard rotations and try to find entry and exit points in the prison. By the time he had planned his entry and escape routes, it was nearly twelve o'clock. Alix walked towards the prison.

Lucian arrived in Windhelm. He left Shadowmere outside the city and went in. The prison was up ahead. He slipped into the shadows and made his way to the door. Lucian opened it silently and went inside. The guards here were sleeping. Judging by their insignias, they were city guards, not part of the local Stormcloak garrison. Lucian moved through the room and walked down the hallway towards the prison room. He drew both of his daggers and stayed in the shadows.

The captain of the guard left his door open in the hallway. Alix looked at the glass sword hanging on a chair greedily and decided to take it. He crept into the room and slid the sword out of its scabbard. He put it in his own belt and smiled before walking into the cell block. The walls were lined with compartments, and he looked for the cell with Sabjorn's number. He found it.

"Sabjorn, I'm from the Thieves Guild. I'm here to get you out of here."

Sabjorn stood up and smiled. He was a short man with a greedy look on his face. Alix picked the lock on his door and opened it. Sabjorn came out but then froze. Alix turned where he was looking. A shadow leapt towards him. Instinctively, he pulled out his new sword and held it up. The movement saved his life. The Shadow's right hand dagger had been aimed for his chest, but the sword blocked it. Alix staggered back and Lucian turned to Sabjorn. The man was frozen in place as Lucian stabbed his left hand dagger into his chest. Sabjorn fell to his knees, and blood leaked out of his mouth before he fell to the ground.

Alix knew he had failed, but he wanted to live. The Shadow was still turned the other way, so Alix hit him with the hilt of the sword before running past him down the hallway.

Lucian staggered backward and saw Alix take off down the hallway. He decided to let him go.

**13**

Alix ran as fast as he could out of the jail and made a beeline for his horse. People started to turn their heads quizzically in his direction. He didn't care anymore about being detected; he just wanted to get away.

Alix sprinted through the gates just as the Shadow walked calmly out of the jail. All eyes were on the stranger who was running away, so no one noticed the hooded figure slip quietly into the shadows.

Alix started to slow down once he got outside the gates. He looked behind him to see if he had a pursuer. He didn't. Alix mounted his horse and started back to Riften at a canter.

He got there two hours later, and had calmed down by then. He dismounted his horse at the guild stable and went down the secret ladder into the Cistern. Alix walked quickly to the hallway leading to the Ragged Flagon. He went inside and saw Brynjolf seated at a table. Brynjolf took one look at Alix and got up out of his chair.

"What happened?"

Alix took a deep breath before starting, "I went to Windhelm and got inside the jail, I found Sabjorn, and got him out of his cell. We were about to leave the building when someone attacked us. It was an assassin, and he killed Sabjorn. Almost killed me too."

Brynjolf sighed, "Well I'm glad you got out of there, I guess there's nothing you could really have done. Did you get a good look at the assassin? Was he Dark Brotherhood?"

"I guess he might have been. I didn't really see him that well, and it was like he was a shadow."

"Well, lad, I guess you should get some rest. Sorry, there's no pay for a failed mission, but you can keep the sword." Brynjolf motioned to the glass sword at Alix's side.

Alix nodded and turned away.

No one noticed Lucian leaving Windhelm. And he encountered no one on his trip back to the Sanctuary. Not that he had left that to chance, of course. Lucian made sure he stayed in the shadows and avoided anyone on his path.

Lucian could see a faint glow on the horizon as he approached the Black Door. The sun would rise soon. He dismounted Shadowmere and walked inside. Astrid was in the first room. She appeared to be planning something, and a map of Windhelm was spread out on the table in front of her.

Lucian looked down the hallway to the main room. Veezara was watching three people Lucian didn't know attack the training dummies.

"Those are new recruits," Astrid said, "They arrived while you were gone. We will need them for our…plan."

"What plan?" Lucian asked

Astrid motioned to the table, "I'm not done with it yet."

Lucian nodded and did not inquire further.

"So how did your mission go?"

"I killed the target, but there was someone there already to break him out. He looked like Thieves Guild, from the armor. I didn't kill him, he ran away."

"Well," Astrid said, "You accomplished your mission. Nazir will have your payment. Now, I'm going to get back to planning, and you can get some rest."

Astrid looked up as Lucian began to walk away, "Good job, Shadow."

**14**

Farrell was looking at the large floating object in the middle of the Hall of Elements in the Mages College in Winterhold. Tolfdir had taken some students down to the Saarthal Excavation. They'd found a secret door by accident, and discovered it. Tolfdir and two Alteration students with him had used the Telekinesis spell to move it here. It had taken a tremendous effort, even for such a short distance.

They called it the Eye of Magnus. It was a giant orb, roughly ten feet in diameter, and it seemed to radiate magical energy.

Farrell had his doubts about the Eye. It seemed stable right now, but if that much energy was released at one time…

He shuddered at the thought. If someone somehow set that thing off, it would destroy the whole town.

But if only they could find out how to harness that energy! It would be enough to power any enchanted items the College needed. Maybe even restore everyone's Magicka who was close to it.

Farrell was mainly an Alteration mage, but he used Destruction magic as well. He was an adept level student, and one of the most skilled.

The Archmage walked up behind him.

"I see you find it interesting, The Eye of Magnus. It is said that it is one of the manifestations of the god of sorcery himself, here in the plane of Mundus. I've been watching you, Farrell, you are very skilled, and I know of something you may find interesting. You know that the Eye contains a massive amount of magical energy. I believe that it may very well be a trans-dimensional object, tethered to Mundus as well as Oblivion and Aetherius. If this is true, then it would be possible to harness the energy from the artifact, but only by using another trans-dimensional artifact of Magnus."

Farrell was definitely interested now.

"I happen to know where one is," said the Archmage, "The Staff."

"The Staff of Magnus? That's probably the most powerful staff in all of Tamriel!"

The Archmage nodded, "I believe it is here, in Skyrim. It is inside Labyrinthian, the huge ancient construct."

Farrell paused before responding, "And you want me to find it?"

"Yes. I believe you can. You will need to take friends, as there may very well still be Draugr roaming its halls."

Farrell smiled. He was going to be making history.

The Archmage walked away, and Farrell went out of the Hall of Elements. He walked across the courtyard in the middle of the College towards one of the dormitory halls. He had already chosen who he would bring. Seeing as the Archmage had practically given him permission to leave whenever he saw fit, he saw no reason to wait.

He would take his friends Onmund and J'zargo. Onmund was a Restoration Mage with some skill in Destruction. J'zargo, a Khajit, was fully focused on Destruction magic, and was considered one of the college's best in that field.

He walked into the Hall of Attainment and ascended the stairs to the second floor. His friends were in adjacent bedrooms, so he had no problem finding them. Onmund was sitting at his desk, studying. J'zargo returned from class a few seconds later.

Farrell told them what the Archmage had said, and they agreed to go with him. It was six o'clock now, so they decided to leave for Dawnstar and stop there for the night. Then, the next morning, they would continue on to Labyrinthian.

The three packed their bags for the journey. It was freezing outside, which made sense seeing as they were literally at the northern edge of Tamriel, so Farrell used an Alteration spell he knew to keep them warm. The mages arrived safely in the town of Dawnstar, a shipping hub of northern Skyrim. When they got there, they could see the auroras in the night sky. The group rented rooms in the local inn for the night to rest. They would set off for Labyrinthian in the morning.

**15**

Farrell and the other mages woke early the next morning. They ate a quick breakfast and headed to the southwest towards Labyrinthian.

They passed from The Pale into Hjaalmarch within two hours. They had to cross through a mountain pass to get to Labyrinthian.

Labyrinthian was a large structure made of stone. It looked almost like some sort of temple. It was known that it had once been the meeting place of the Dragon Priests of Skyrim.

The three mages walked into the large stone courtyard. Suddenly, there was a roar to their front. A frost troll hurtled out of the snow towards them.

"Use fire spells, trolls are vulnerable to them!" Farrell yelled

He dual-casted a fireball and shot it at the approaching creature. The spell exploded as it hit. Onmund and J'zargo both shot Firebolts, finishing it off. The troll fell to the ground, dead.

The mages continued on to the entrance of Labyrinthian, and opened the massive stone doors. They walked into the depths of the construct.

They came into a large, open room with three metal doors near its front.

"Hmm…"

"How about one of us casts Clairvoyance?" Onmund asked

"Good idea."

The path to their objective was illuminated by a glowing silver line on the floor.

"Well, the center door it is."

They opened it and found themselves walking through a crypt. Then they heard the moans.

"Draugr!" Farrell shouted

The mages readied destruction spells just as the dead began to rise. The zombielike Draugr were the corpses of long dead humans who woke when their crypts were intruded upon.

Six of them came around the corner into the hallway. They walked slowly, but still carried their weapons and armor.

Farrell cast another Fireball spell, killing the first two Draugr. Onmund dual-cast a Flames spell, shooting a stream of fire while J'zargo began dropping them with lightning bolts. Within a few seconds the Draugr were all dead.

The group resumed walking down the hallway, now more cautious. Their Magicka recharged as they came to the next room. They were now deep underground.

As soon as they crossed the threshold, Draugr began to burst forth from the coffins lining the walls of the large, open chamber. The three mages readied spells as the Draugr assembled. They were forming into some sort of crude battle line.

"Onmund, use the Ice Storm to slow them down and soften them up. J'zargo and I will use Chain Lightning to try to take them down faster."

The Draugr were being led by one of their own who was equipped with a horned helmet.

"Kill the leader when they get close," Farrell said.

The line of walking dead began to march slowly towards them. Onmund used ice spells to slow them down and weaken them. J'zargo and Farrell began using lightning attacks, and the electrical magic sparked from one Draugr to the next. The dead began to fall with smoking holes rent through them.

The tactic worked well, and soon all the Draugr had fallen except for their leader. He charged towards them, not stopping even when J'zargo shot him with a lightning bolt. Onmund barely had time to pull up a ward before a blow from the two handed battleaxe drove him to the ground. He cried out in pain as his right arm took most of the blow. Farrell and J'zargo blasted the Draugr with Sparks, and he finally succumbed as the torrents of electricity washed over him.

Onmund cast a healing spell, and his arm was fine in a few seconds. The mages waited for a minute to catch their breath and let their Magicka recharge before opening the door to the next chamber.

When they walked in, the first thing they noticed was the Dragon Priest. It was holding a staff in one hand, and a powerful looking spell in the other. It turned to them before they had readied their spells and screeched. It blasted J'zargo with an incredibly powerful shock spell and he flew back against the wall, dying almost instantly. Farrell and Onmund began pelting it with all manner of magical attacks as it came towards them. As it advanced up to Onmund he cast a protective ward. The Dragon Priest raised the staff, and a stream of pure energy rent the spell into nothing. It grabbed Onmund, even as Farrell was still shooting Firebolts at it. And then, right in front of him, the thing tore Onmund's head off. The thing turned to Farrell, its front wet with the dead mage's blood. Farrell shot two more Firebolts at it before the Dragon Priest cast the shock spell at him. He dodged it, barely, but the force and energy of it threw him to the ground. It was weakened now, as it limped over towards Farrell to finish him off. He was nearly drained of Magicka; only enough left for one more spell. The Dragon Priest leaned over him and screeched, and Farrell cast the fireball directly in its face at point blank range. The screech abruptly ended as the monster back flipped away before landing dead on the ground.

Farrell looked at its dead body and passed out.

He woke up a few minutes later. He got up and walked over to the dead Dragon Priest. He picked up the Staff of Magnus, then he turned back to the creature. He knew enough about Dragon Priests to know that their masks were worth a large sum of gold, and were also imbued with magical properties.

He pulled the mask off the creature's face, and walked out of the chamber, staff in hand. He muttered something commending his friends' souls to Aetherius, and headed back to the entrance of Labyrinthian. He opened the great stone doors and stepped out into the snow.

"I see you have the staff," said the Archmage

Farrell looked up at him. For some reason, his brain did not register surprise that the Archmage was here, at Labyrinthian.

Farrell nodded.

"And what of your friends?"

Farrell hesitated before answering, "They…they died. There was a Dragon Priest. I killed it."

"My condolences; I see you have its mask?"

Farrell nodded again and handed him the mask. It was made of dark gray stone and had a hood attached to it. The Archmage put it on, and all Farrell could see of his face were his two blue eyes.

"And the staff?" the mask gave his voice a strange, metallic din.

Farrell gave him the Staff of Magnus. It was only then that he registered the presence of the two people behind the Archmage. He realized that they were Dark Brotherhood assassins.

"Thank you,"

The Archmage calmly shot an Icebolt into Farrell's chest before turning and walking away.

Farrell slid into a sitting position, his back against the wall. He had no Magicka left. He looked down at the Icebolt protruding from his chest, and watched the blood seep out of the wound.

Strangely, it didn't hurt. Farrell only felt tired, and cold.

The feeling of coldness spread from the wound like the icy tendrils of Death. A pool of blood spread in the snow.

Farrell closed his eyes for the last time.

**16**

"We've got another job for you, lad."

Alix looked up at Brynjolf.

"I know you're sore about failing the last one, but we all mess jobs up every once in a while. This one should be easy enough, but it might take a few days. Your job will be to go undercover and do some reconnaissance for the Guild. Watch guard shifts, plan escape routes, mark down places worth clearing out, et cetera."

"Doesn't sound too hard, what's the catch?"

Brynjolf took a deep breath before continuing, "You'll be in Windhelm."

Alix shrugged, "It's fine. What else do I need to know?"

"Just don't give anyone reason to be suspicious, and you'll be fine. Hopefully this time the Dark Brotherhood won't show up," Brynjolf smiled.

"Okay, I'll get going."

Lucian was on another mission, but Astrid was still planning.

"Nazir, are the recruits at the Dawnstar Sanctuary ready?" she asked

"Yes, they are prepared."

"And the mercenaries we planted in the city? Have they achieved their objective?"

"Yes."

"Good, now all we have to do is notify the Archmage. Tell Festus and the others, and then pack your things. We're going to Windhelm."

The Archmage walked into the Hall of Elements. He was wearing black Master Robes and the Dragon Priest's mask and hood. The robes were emblazoned with a red imprint of the Hand of Sithis, the symbol of the Dark Brotherhood.

He smiled behind the mask as he thought of how easy this had been. He was not the legitimate Archmage, but he had arranged an untimely death for the next in line. He had only held this office for a year, and he planned to keep it. If the Dark Brotherhood's plan went well, he would be rich, and no one would know he had done anything.

The official report was that the three young mages had ventured to Labyrinthian in search of artifacts, and had never returned. No mention was made of the Archmage's involvement.

He was alone now; the two Dark Brotherhood assassins had returned to their Sanctuary.

There were two students studying in the chamber, near the Eye.

"Everyone out! Now!" he commanded. The mask did a good job of disguising his voice, and no one here had ever heard him talk like this anyway.

The closest student, an Apprentice, spoke up, "What are you doing here? You can't do this!"

"Oh really?" The Archmage paralyzed him with the Alteration spell in his left hand. He was wearing Daedric gauntlets, because their material was excellent for conducting magic.

The other student, a Novice, took off running for the door. The Archmage picked up the paralyzed student with a Telekinesis spell and threw him out of the room.

He slammed the metal doors closed and began to weld them shut with Flames. He already had massive amounts of Magicka, but the Master Robes and Dragon Priest mask had enchantments that would bolster his supply and regeneration. He finished welding the doors together; it would hold anyone trying to get in for a while.

He turned his gaze to the Eye of Magnus. When the clock struck twelve noon, he would do it. He had already fully researched the plan. He was not going to use the staff to harness the energy of the orb, he was going to unleash it. But, he wasn't just going to set it off, he was going to use the combined energy from the Staff and the Eye to instantaneously transport it. His target was Windhelm.

With five minutes left, he heard someone trying to open the door. He turned and cast Sparks onto the metal, and heard a cry of pain as someone on the other side was shocked. There were no more attempts to open the door.

Five minutes later, the clock struck noon. The Archmage turned the Staff of Magnus to the Eye.

Astrid and the other members of the Dark Brotherhood met up with the recruits from the Dawnstar Sanctuary outside of Windhelm. They had mercenaries planted inside the city disguised as guards. They had another group of mercenaries disguised as Imperial soldiers, and their job was to draw out the local Stormcloak garrison.

Astrid watched the company of Stormcloaks march out of the city towards where her mercenaries were attacking one of the farms.

"It's time," she signaled for the group to advance.

The Dark Brotherhood assassins from the Pine Forest Sanctuary were pulled in close to her. Arnbjorn, Gabriella, and Babette were on her right, and Veezara, Nazir, and Festus were on her left. Behind them were the recruits from the Dawnstar Sanctuary, of which there were about twenty. The whole group was dressed in the red and black colors of the Dark Brotherhood, and all were wearing full combat armor. They had a variety of weapons. Astrid had only the Sanctuary dagger. Arnbjorn had a battleaxe, Gabriella had her bow, Festus was a mage so he had no weapons, Veezara had a sword, and Babette was equipped with several poisons and throwing knives. The recruits behind them were armed with an assortment of swords, bows, and daggers. One of them carried the banner emblazoned with the Hand of Sithis.

They walked toward the city. Windhelm was situated on an icy island surrounded on all sides by the White River. There was one bridge connecting it to the mainland. The Dark Brotherhood reached the bridge, and a guard ran towards them from the gates.

"Who are you? What are you doing here? By the order of the Jarl it is illegal to-" his sentence was cut off when an arrow took him in the throat.

The guard fell to his knees as blood ran down the front of his cuirass. The other guard at the gate turned to sound the alarm, but another arrow hit him in the chest. The guard got up, then fell back to the ground again. The arrow was poisoned. Babette had supplied everyone with some of her cache.

Festus shot a Lightning Bolt spell straight into the sky, the signal for the mercenaries on the inside to open the gates. The gates swung open and six men came out. They were dressed the same as the city guards, but their shields were painted with the Hand of Sithis instead of the emblem of Windhelm.

The Dark Brotherhood walked through the open gates, into the city.

**17**

Astrid and the other assassins walked calmly through the gates, while the recruits swarmed past them into the courtyard. They formed a battle line, melee weapons in the front, archers behind them. The people in the square were panicking, and the city guards were just starting to stream into the courtyard. There were about thirty of them. The Dark Brotherhood archers lined up their shots and fired before the guards were ready to fight. Five of them fell to the ground, bleeding from arrow wounds. The rest of the guards formed up into a battle line, their shields held at the ready.

Astrid and the other assassins drew their weapons and readied for battle.

The captain of the guard walked confidently up to them, "I don't know who you think you are, but I will give you one chance to surrender before-"

Astrid slashed her blade through his throat before he could finish his sentence. There was a general gasp of disbelief from the bystanders. The captain's eyes widened in surprise and he clutched his throat as blood flowed out of his severed veins and arteries. The captain fell to his knees and then pitched to the side, with a scarlet circle spreading from his neck into the snow.

The guards were silent for a moment before bellowing a battle cry and charging towards the attackers. The Dark Brotherhood was silent, and waited to move before the guards were almost upon them. When the guards were less than a few meters away, the assassins in the front of the Dark Brotherhood line leapt forward suddenly, catching the defenders by surprise. Many of the guards in front were killed before they could even swing their weapons, knocked to the ground and then quickly slain by assassins. Soon the courtyard was filled with battle. The blue clad guards on one side in striking contrast to the red and black garb of the Brotherhood. The assassins fought in silence, using teamwork to systematically execute the city guards. A guard would be readying his axe to hit an assassin, when he felt a sharp pain from behind and his soul went to the Void.

The group of veteran assassins smashed a hole through enemy lines. They were grouped together, killing any guard who got close. Babette was skittering around, conveniently below the battle. She would make small cuts on enemies before moving away, but they would only feel the poison when it was too late.

Within a couple minutes, half the guards lay dead or dying. The remainder absconded from the courtyard, falling back to the Palace of the Kings. Several were killed by arrows as they fled, and the Dark Brotherhood did not pursue.

Astrid looked around the site of the short battle. Seventeen guards were lying in the snow, either dead or very close to it. A few assassins were walking calmly around, finishing off the ones still alive. The stone and snow was filled with patches of their blood, but in contrast, the Dark Brotherhood had only two casualties.

Astrid and the other assassins walked calmly down the street. The civilians were panicking, running to and fro around the city.

They reached the Palace of the Kings and pushed open the doors.

There were ten guards clustered at the end of the room. Behind them were Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak and his housecarl, Galmar Stone-Fist. One of the guards had a bow, and he notched an arrow. Before he could fore, however, Gabriella neatly dropped him with a shot through the eye socket.

"Who are you!?" Ulfric shouted.

Astrid smiled, "We are the Dark Brotherhood."

Just then, there was a blast of blue magical energy from the center of the room. Shapes began to solidify out of the energy, revealing the Archmage and the Eye of Magnus. The Eye was still hovering above the ground.

"You're late," Astrid said.

The Archmage shrugged, "Well, I'm here now," his voice was almost unrecognizable behind the metallic distortion of the mask. "I suppose these are the people we're going to kill?" he motioned towards the group standing on the other side of the room."

Astrid nodded.

The guards broke. They ran towards the Dark Brotherhood with battle cries. One of them tried to attack the Archmage, but a Lightning Bolt rent a smoking hole in his chain mail before he could try. One guard was felled by Gabriella's bow, and Babette killed another with a throwing knife. Arnbjorn drove one to the ground with his battleaxe, the guard falling in a cloud of blood. A guard took a clumsy swing at Astrid, which she easily sidestepped. She then spun and stabbed him through the heart before he turned around. Veezara parried one guard's blow and quickly felled another with his sword. Soon, all the sentinels lay dead at the assassins' feet.

The group walked over the bodies of the dead guards. Galmar ran at them with his warhammer raised. Arnbjorn stepped forward, and swung his two handed battleaxe low, where it caught Galmar in the left leg. His leg broke, and he cried out in pain as blood ran down the wound. Galmar fell to the ground, where Arnbjorn decapitated him with an overhead strike. His head rolled across the stone floor, leaving a bloody trail behind it.

"Why are you doing this?!" Ulfric shouted.

"We're here," Astrid replied, "for your city."

Ulfric stood frozen for a few seconds, "If you want my city, then you'll have to go through me!"

Astrid laughed, "Oh, we already planned that."

Ulfric shouted, using the ancient power of the Thu'um.

"Fus, Ro Dah!" he shouted in the ancient language of dragons. A wall of force blasted towards them, but the Archmage threw up a protective ward that stopped it.

Astrid made a hand signal, and Veezara, Nazir, and Festus ran forward. Festus shot Frostbite at Ulfric, washing him with freezing magic. The Jarl backpedaled, but Nazir and Veezara were upon him. The two assassins jumped Ulfric, pushing him to the ground. He tried to fight back, but was already weakened by the Frost spell. The Archmage strode calmly over to Ulfric.

"I think we'll need to put a stop to that little shouting habit of yours," he said mockingly. "I think I know just the trick." The Archmage bent down next to Ulfric, his left hand awash with a purple aura. He clamped his hand down over Ulfric's mouth, who was struggling to get up.

"This little Illusion spell I picked up will do the job quite nicely. It'll just take the words right out of you."

The magic flared for a few seconds, and Ulfric's muffled shouts suddenly ceased. The Archmage stood up. Ulfric opened his mouth as if to say something, but no words came out.

Astrid nodded, "Good work."

The Archmage bowed sarcastically, and Nazir and Veezara dragged Ulfric away.

**18**

Alix woke up with a jolt. He had been sleeping late because last night's recon had run late, but he was awake now. There were loud noises coming from outside; screaming, loud footsteps, and the screech of metal hitting metal. Alix rose quickly and gathered his things from the inn room. He had his sword ready in its scabbard, in case of confrontation. He walked over to one of the windows and looked out into the courtyard.

_Not good._

The city guard was fighting a battle…and losing. Most of them now lay dead on the snowy stones of the Windhelm courtyard. A few figures clad in red and black walked around finishing off any of them that were still alive.

It took Alix a few seconds to realize that the people were members of the Dark Brotherhood.

_Not good at all. _

Alix ran downstairs and opened the door. He decided that his current situation warranted his leaving the city immediately. Other figures in the dress of Windhelm guards walked around on the streets, and Alix was confused until he realized that they all wore the Hand of Sithis on their shields and armor. The guards were systematically opening and searching houses; the situation here was going from bad to worse.

He slipped into an alley and made his way towards the gate. He got there undetected, and was about to make a run for it.

The huge iron doors closed before he could, and Dark Brotherhood guards swarmed in to protect the exit. Alix had a feeling that that location would be under twenty-four hour watch.

How could he get out of the city, now that the bridge was blocked off? Windhelm was surrounded on all sides by the White River, which is why it was so easily defendable. Jumping off the walls and swimming was definitely not an option. It was the middle of winter here, and most of the water was frozen. However, water still showed in many places, so the ice wasn't thick enough to walk on. If someone tried to swim, they would probably go into shock from the cold and drown.

To make matters worse, Dark Brotherhood guards were already on the walls. More groups of the assassins were roving the streets. There were few sounds of battle now, and they were far away. It seemed the Dark Brotherhood had completely taken over at least half the city.

"Attention everyone!" a woman's voice called out.

Alix and everyone else looked to the side of the courtyard from where it had come. A tall woman dressed in the light armor of the Dark Brotherhood was standing with several others: a large man, an older man who appeared to be a mage, a dark elf, and what appeared to be a young girl were standing with her. A Redguard and an Argonian stood in front of her, holding a bound figure that Alix realized was Ulfric Stormcloak.

"We are the Dark Brotherhood," she said, "and we are taking Windhelm."

A collective intake of breath sounded through her audience.

"Already we have secured the majority of the city, and there is no point in any further resistance. From now on, all laws and all city functions will be administrated by the Dark Brotherhood. Our guards will watch over the city, and any who wish to support us may join the new Windhelm city guard. Anyone trying to leave the city will be killed. Does everyone understand?"

The citizens looked down at their feet. Some of the children were crying.

"We are here for your benefit, citizens! You have been treated with injustice by the rich, and the poor were left to rot! We are doing this to help you, the people of Skyrim! Our first decree is the abolishment of the injustice created by this city, in opening the Windhelm jail!"

As they watched, the doors of the jail were opened by Dark Brotherhood assassins. A stream of prisoners walked out.

"All able bodied former prisoners have agreed to join the new Windhelm guard. We will protect you!"

"Never!" someone shouted. A man ran towards Astrid, but an arrow hit him in the throat before he could attack her. The man fell to his knees, his hands desperately trying to stem the flow of blood from his neck.

"Well, that concludes this announcement, you may all return to your homes. Hail Sithis!"

The rest of the people somberly walked away from the courtyard, shocked. The Windhelm flag was lowered from the flagpole in front of the Palace of the Kings, and a red flag with a black imprint of the Hand of Sithis was raised in its place.

The Dark Brotherhood had taken Windhelm.

**19**

Lucian retrieved the two ebony daggers from the dead drop in High Hrothgar. He had met the Greybeards there, and they had spoken to him.

"We know who you are, Shadow," Arngeir, one of the monks, had said.

"How do you know of me?" Lucian had asked.

The old man smiled, "We do not know of you, we know of your past, your present, and your future. You are an assassin now, Shadow; an easy undertaking, you simply kill who you are told. But soon, you must make a choice. The lives of many will rest in your hands. The thief, he will help you, but the ultimate choice is yours. We know not what you will do; we can only see the paths you could take. And remember, the right choice will not be the easiest. Trust in yourself, follow your heart, and you will succeed."

The monks refused to further explain their cryptic message.

Strangely, there was another object in the dead drop chest besides the daggers and gold payment. It appeared to be some sort of grappling hook, attached to a pulley. It had a thin but strong rope attached to it, and a clip to put it on a belt.

Suddenly, the doors to the High Hrothgar monastery swung open, and the sound of running footsteps echoed towards them. Lucian turned quickly to look, and a dozen Whiterun Hold guards ran towards him.

"Don't move! You are under arrest by order of the jarl!"

Lucian turned and darted out the back doors of the monastery, and the guards followed him. There was a blizzard outside, and Lucian almost fell over the edge of the mountain. The guards caught up and formed a semicircle around him.

"Put your hands in the air!"

Lucian smiled and raised his hands to show he was unarmed.

The guards moved forward to grab him.

And Lucian dropped backwards off the cliff.

The guards gasped, thinking he would surely fall to his death. But they had not seen Lucian attach the grappling cable to the edge of the mountain.

Lucian fell calmly. It was almost relaxing, falling through the white void. He opened his eyes just as the cable caught and slowed his descent. He lowered himself to the ground and rewound it. His mien hardened. Someone had betrayed him.

It was time to find out who.

Lucian rode Shadowmere back to the Sanctuary. He opened the door and announced his arrival, but there appeared to be no one inside. He walked down the hallway to the first room.

No one was there, but a map of Windhelm was spread out on the table with several markings.

A path marked "Entry Route" traced across the bridge and through the courtyard to the Palace of the Kings. Another marking pointed to the bridge, reading "blow at 1:30 PM". Other marks showed the positions and paths of patrolling guards, the size of the Eastmarch Stormcloak garrison, and other interesting notes.

Lucian almost couldn't believe what he was seeing. The Dark Brotherhood was going to take over Windhelm. Then, he realized that if the operation had gone according to plan, they already had.

Lucian heard a noise from the next room.

He tensed up and silently drew his daggers, sliding across the wall towards the open doorway. As he got close, he was sure he could hear quiet breathing from the other side. Someone was waiting next to the doorway.

Lucian burst through and swung his arm to the left. His assailant had been about to stab him, but Lucian's arm caught the man's wrist. Lucian pivoted around and punched the man in the throat, sending him to his knees. It was a Dark Brotherhood assassin. Lucian grabbed him and put his dagger to his throat.

"Why are you trying to kill me? Who sent you?" Lucian asked in the same dark voice he had used on the bandits.

The assassin spit out blood, "I'll never tell you, and if you kill me, you'll never know."

Lucian hesitated for a few seconds before kneeing the man in the face. Lucian's blow connected with his nose, and flower of blood opened onto his face. Lucian grabbed one of the poisons from a nearby table. It was a slow working kind that took a few minutes to kill, and it was extremely painful.

"Do you know what this is?" Lucian asked

The man's eyes widened.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Lucian dipped his dagger into the poison and then stabbed the man through the forearm, putting the poison into his veins.

"Now tell me who sent you."

The assassin panicked for a few seconds before answering, "Astrid! Astrid sent me to kill you!"

"Why?"

"I don't know! She didn't tell me why!"

Lucian let go of the man.

"Do you have the antidote?" the man asked

"Yes,"

The assassin's face lightened for a split second before Lucian stabbed a dagger through his right temple, killing him instantly.

Lucian left the corpse and walked back up the hallway. He knew the Dark Brotherhood's plan.

The Shadow was going back to Windhelm.

**20**

Alix was trapped.

The city was locked down. The bridge was gone, and the Dark Brotherhood was now just mopping up scattered resistance.

He had tried to find another way out, but there were roving guards patrolling any possible escape routes. The assassins were breaking into and searching houses, seemingly at random. Sometimes they came out with bags of gold, sometimes dragging bound individuals along. Sometimes, there were screams, and the people dragged out did not move at all.

He was hiding in his room at Candlehearth Hall, and he was sure they would search it soon. A few fights had broken out between disgruntled citizens and the new occupiers, but the poorly equipped civilians were no match for the well trained Dark Brotherhood assassins.

Alix heard the door crash open, and the tramping sounds of feet. He looked out his door and saw three men enter the building. Two were dressed as guards, but their leader was an assassin. One of them was carrying a crossbow.

A Nord in the outfit of a Stormcloak officer rose to his feet. The leader motioned towards him, and the three drew their weapons. The Stormcloak pulled a mace from his belt and swung it, but the assassin easily dodged the blow.

"I'll kill you I swear it!" the Stormcloak roared.

There was a sharp snap as the crossbow discharged, and the Stormcloak cried out in pain as the arrow hit him in the knee. He fell to the ground, and was promptly grabbed and pulled out into the street.

The mercenaries left the building, but Alix had a feeling they would be back.

"Who are they looking for?" he thought aloud.

There was a response from beside him, "It looks like they're taking anyone who could be dangerous."

Alix looked over to see a woman leaning against the wall. She had red hair, and was armed with a bow.

"I'm Aela the Huntress. I'm a member of the Companions."

The Companions were warriors renowned throughout Skyrim for their prowess. They worked for hire, but only did missions they deemed noble and honorable.

"What are you doing here?" Alix asked

"Well, I was about to go meet up with some of my Shield-Brothers to get rid of some cultists when the Dark Brotherhood showed up. How about you?"

"My name's Alix; I was here on a job for the Thieves Guild."

Aela's countenance turned to one of mild disapprobation, but her expression softened after a few seconds.

"Well, that's not exactly the most honorable line of work, but I guess I'll need your help if we're going to do some good here."

"So, do you have a plan?" Alix asked

Aela shrugged, "Not really, but we should start by finding a safer place."

Alix nodded, "There's an old abandoned house I looked at called Hjerim, but it's halfway across the city."

Aela paused in thought but was jarred back into reality when the door opened again.

"I guess that's where we'll be going then," she said

Alix and Aela walked quietly past the mercenaries and slipped out the door.

People were moving quickly, shadily, as if they were afraid someone might catch them at any moment.

Come to think of it, that was quite a plausible possibility.

The two quickly made their way through the stone streets of the city, quietly avoiding any roving mercenaries or assassins.

The sun lay straight above in the sky, sending some warmth through the snowy air. Even though Winterhold and Dawnstar had lower average temperatures, Windhelm was often referred to as the snowiest city in Skyrim; there was almost always a constant light snow falling in the area.

Alix stepped quietly, his leather boots making almost no sound on the ice gilded stone. Aela was not quite as discreet.

She noticed his slight exasperation through his body language, "Sorry if I'm not as stealthy as you, Alix. You have to remember that I'm a Companion, not a thief."

Alix sighed inwardly, "Fine, as long as it doesn't get us killed," he muttered under his breath.

They were able to avoid confrontation and reached the house. Alix picked the lock and they went inside. True to his observations, Hjerim appeared to be abandoned. Aela closed the door.

Alix was about to say something when Aela froze.

"What?" he asked

She held up her hand, "Listen,"

Alix stopped; he couldn't hear anything at first, but then he noticed it.

"Voices,"

Aela nodded and pointed down. The voices were coming from below the house. Alix silently crept over to the door and opened it.

They made their way noiselessly down the steps. Alix could make out the individual voices now.

"Do you think this is really a safe place?" a young sounding man asked.

"It'll be the safest place we can find," a man with a strong Nordic accent answered, "The Dark Brotherhood will never look here as long as we don't give them any reason to be suspicious."

"What are we doing here, anyway?" this voice sounded almost like a child's.

There was a pause before the Nord continued, "We will be the resistance."

Alix walked around the stairway and into the basement, but was tackled to the ground from the side. Aela spun and had an arrow notched and ready for Alix's assailant.

"Wait! Stop! You aren't Dark Brotherhood," said the Nord.

"No, we're not, so tell him to get off my friend here, or he'll get an arrow in the back." Aela answered.

"Carn, get up."

A young man with an axe stood up, and Alix clambered quickly to his feet.

"Are you here to help us?" the man asked

"Well," Alix answered, "that depends on what you're doing."

The thief looked around the room. It was larger than he had first thought, and there were about a dozen people, most of them armed with varying weapons.

"We're resisting the Dark Brotherhood occupation of our city. My name is Ralof, and I'm the leader of the Resistance. We need all the help we can get."

Alix shrugged, "I guess we have similar goals, you want to liberate your city, and I want to get out of it, both of us preferably without dying."

"Hmm. You could be of assistance to our cause. What are you, boy?"

Alix smiled wryly, "I'm a thief."

Ralof's countenance hardened slightly, "Well, that explains the Captain's sword," he motioned towards the green glass blade on Alix's belt.

"Oh," Alix glanced down, "I guess I should probably return that."

"I don't think that would be a good idea," Ralof said solemnly.

"Why?"

"Because the Captain of the Guard is at the bottom of the White River; the Brotherhood dropped all the bodies over the walls," Carn responded

"The river stained red with Nordic blood," Aela whispered.

"What?"

"Nothing,"

"Well, then, I guess you two are officially part of the Windhelm Resistance," Ralof declared.

**21**

Astrid looked over the wall of the city.

_Her city_

She was almost surprised the plan was going so well, so far it was easier than she had expected.

The entire Eastmarch Stormcloak army had assembled on the other side of the river. They seemed hesitant to take action, because they knew their leader was at the mercy of the Dark Brotherhood.

It was another snowy day, and Astrid had her hood and mask pulled up around her face, more to keep out the cold than anything else.

"Have you taken care of that 'Shadow' character?" the Archmage asked.

"Yes, the Whiterun Guard should have apprehended him by now."

There was silence for several seconds.

"When are we going to tell them?" he motioned towards the Stormcloaks on the other side of the River.

Astrid turned to look at the Archmage, "Not yet; we will give them Ulfric, but then they will learn of the catch to our contract."

"Ah, yes. I believe that part was my idea, involving the Eye of Magnus?"

"Yes, because you're the only one who knows how to use the energy inside it."

The Archmage paused for a few seconds before continuing, "You don't think we'll actually have to unleash it, do you?"

"I don't think so," Astrid replied, "Hopefully they will see reason, and we won't have to destroy the city."

"How would we survive the blast if we did?" the Archmage asked

"That's just it, we probably wouldn't, but neither would anyone in Windhelm. The city itself will be sent to Sithis."

"Well then, Sister, I hope your plan works."

Lucian lay unmoving in the snow. His hooded cloak blended in with the subarctic landscape, and he was practically invisible.

The entire Eastmarch Stormcloak army had assembled outside Windhelm, facing its front.

Lucian was situated on an overlooking hillock, about half a mile away from the city. He could see the Dark Brotherhood banners flying from the ramparts and towers, emblazoned with the Hand of Sithis. Figures were patrolling the walls, but they were too far away for Lucian to make out their details.

He was armed with two ebony daggers, and they had at least fifty guards in the city. There were probably more assassins inside. Looking down, there were about five hundred Stormcloaks in the camp, and they would most likely call for reinforcements.

"Why aren't they moving to begin a siege?" Lucian wondered

Just then, Lucian noticed two Stormcloaks walking towards him. They appeared oblivious to his presence, so he froze in place and watched them. Even though he and the Stormcloaks had similar goals in mind, they would probably attack him out of suspicion. He could easily kill the two soldiers when they got closer, but he saw no reason to.

"Because we can't do anything while the Dark Brotherhood has Ulfric," one of them said.

"Can't we try to rescue him?" the other asked.

"Those people are assassins. You know what they do? They kill people. That's their job and their purpose in life, and they're good at it. Do you really think we could even get inside the city before they killed our leader?"

"No, you're right," the other said dejectedly.

Lucian now realized why they couldn't attack the city. The Dark Brotherhood was holding Ulfric Stormcloak hostage. Just then, a horn sounded.

"They're calling us all back to the command post!" the two soldiers turned and jogged back down towards the Stormcloak encampment.

After they were far enough away, Lucian got up and moved closer to the city. He made quick progress the rest of the way, as there were no patrols to avoid. As he got close, he saw what the commotion was about.

Three Dark Brotherhood assassins had crossed the river in a small boat under the flag of truce. They walked up onto the shore, to where the Stormcloak commander and his lieutenants were waiting.

Lucian crept just close enough for his keen ears to pick up the conversation:

The Dark Brotherhood had decided to ransom Ulfric for twenty-five thousand gold septims. After a short deliberation, the Stormcloaks agreed, and brought forth five chests of gold. The Dark Brotherhood began ferrying the gold back inside the city, as Ulfric was brought to the wall. The assembled soldiers cheered at the sight of their leader, but their elation was short-lived. Ulfric was already bound and gagged, but then an assassin fastened an execution hood inscribed with the Hand of Sithis over his head.

"Here is your leader!" the assassins called out

Then they pushed Ulfric over the wall, and he fell into the White River.

There was a general gasp of disbelief, but then the soldiers flew into action.

Ulfric hit and smashed through a thin sheet of partially broken ice. Lucian noted that he was now probably unconscious from the force of the fall. Six soldiers ran out into the river, two of them walking on the thin ice. The water was not flowing quickly, but the current was strong; one of the soldiers could not stay on course, and had to be dragged out of the river by his comrades. Eventually, two of them grabbed hold of Ulfric and began pulling him back towards the shore. As they got closer, more soldiers waded in to help them.

As they successfully pulled Ulfric out of the water and onto the shore, Lucian noticed something they missed. One of the soldiers who had been walking on the ice fell through, and his armor and heavy two-handed weapon weighed him down. The soldier barely had time to cry out before the current pulled him under the ice sheet.

Lucian couldn't do anything to save him, and he knew the soldier wouldn't last long in the icy cold water.

A few minutes later, Lucian saw the dead body surface from underneath the ice. Two Stormcloaks noticed, and solemnly pulled the corpse from the water.

Lucian wasn't sure what the Empire would do about the situation here in Windhelm. Eastmarch was one of the Holds that had seceded in the Stormcloak Rebellion, starting the ongoing Skyrim Civil War. Soldiers of the Imperial Legion were pitted against the Stormcloak rebels, but the conflict was mostly fought in small scale skirmishes away from large cities.

They'd probably just sit out and see what transpired.

Brynjolf, Delvin, and Vex arrived in the Stormcloak camp after they had requested the assistance of the Thieves Guild.

"Do you have anyone inside the city?" one of the Stormcloaks had asked

"We do have one thief already inside," Brynjolf replied

"Can he get us some reconnaissance?"

"I'm sure he can if we can get word to him, but it will cost you," Vex answered

"I'm sorry to hear that, we used most of our gold ransoming Ulfric."

"Hmm, I have an idea," Delvin said, "When you get your money back from the Dark Brotherhood, we get to keep a share."

The officer shrugged, "I guess that will work."

"Good, I'm glad we could come to an agreement."

"When can you notify your agent?" the officer asked

"We can get word to him within the hour."

"Good; what's his name?" the officer queried

"Alix."

**22**

Alix and Aela were conversing with Ralof when one of the Resistance members brought the news.

"They released Ulfric! The Dark Brotherhood let him go!"

"What?"

Jack, one of the youngest members, paused to catch his breath, "The Stormcloaks paid them to release him, but I haven't heard anything about what they're going to do with the city."

"Well," Ralof replied, "I guess that eliminates the use of our plan to break him out."

"The usurper shall live while others die," Aela whispered, but no one heard her.

"Oh, and there's one more thing," Jack pulled a message scroll from his belt, "They shot this over the river, it's for you," he held it out to Alix

Alix opened it, and there was a message from the Thieves Guild inside.

_Alix, we're going to be sending two very important shipments to the city. There will be two cases of Black-Briar mead; they'll come in on the Tunnel Snake and land near the HOTD at twelve. _

"It's a code. The Thieves Guild is sending in two people, and they will enter the city through a tunnel under the Hall of the Dead. I'll go there at midnight, because that's when they'll come in. What time is it now?"

"Almost eleven,"

"Okay, I'll be back in two hours. If something happens, I'll meet you at Calixto's shop," Alix said

"Do you want me to come with you?" Aela asked

"No, I think this particular mission is better fit for a thief," he smiled

Aela grinned and Alix walked up the staircase. He opened the door and crept out into the dark streets. The first thing he noticed was a sign nailed to one of the walls decreeing that no one was to be on the streets after dark, unless there was an exception made by the Brotherhood.

Alix slipped into a shadowy alleyway and made his way towards the Hall of the Dead.

Lucian pulled himself up over the top of the wall. He had waited until the Dark Brotherhood patrol had passed, and then climbed up Windhelm's large stone ramparts.

He stayed out of the guards' line of sight as his shadowy form ghosted into the city. Lucian leapt from the wall to the top of one the nearest buildings. He began moving from roof to roof, deeper into enemy territory.

Alix turned the last corner and walked up to the Hall. He opened the doors to the building.

"Good to see you're on time," one of the thieves said

Alix didn't recognize the two people who walked through the doors, but their outfits showed them to be members of the Guild. That wasn't really unusual, as Alix knew the Guild had at least forty members.

The trio walked out onto the street.

"So, where are we go-"

Alix froze at the sound of the crossbow discharging its deadly shot. He looked back, and the thief who had been talking fell to the ground, the bolt buried in his chest.

Two Dark Brotherhood assassins appeared on the street, one of them was reloading her crossbow. The other thief ducked into the shadows, and sprinted back into the Hall.

Alix stood frozen in the street. The assassin raised her crossbow and aimed it at him. He glanced down at the unmoving form of the thief on the ground, the blood seeping from his wound looking like ink in the darkness.

Just then, a shadow flew from the rooftop. The ghostly form landed on the assassin from above, and she barely had time to scream before she hit the ground dead. The Shadow pulled his two daggers from her body and rose from the stone street. The other assassin backpedaled and drew his drew his sword, and Alix pulled his own blade from its scabbard. Alix ran forward and stabbed his glass blade into the assassin from behind. The assassin toppled over, landing dead next to his comrade.

Three bodies lay dead on the snowy street.

Alix turned to where the Shadow had been standing, but there was no one there.

He spun back around, and tried to pull the dead thief's body out of the street. Alix heard footsteps coming towards him, and decided to make a break for it.

"Sorry, buddy," he muttered

Alix ducked into the shadows just as the Dark Brotherhood patrol walked out onto the street. He stepped backwards, edging farther away from the street.

Then the hand closed around his mouth.

Alix cried out in surprise, but no sound came out.

"Shhh,"

Alix tried to struggle, but the grip was like iron. After a few seconds, he stopped.

"What in Oblivion happened here?" Alix heard one of the Brotherhood patrollers say

Alix was slowly pulled deeper into the alley, until whoever was holding him decided their position was safe. The gloved hand let go of him, and Alix spun around.

He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off.

"Be quiet if you want to live," the Shadow whispered

"What are _you _doing here?"

"I could ask the same of you."

Alix stopped to consider his answer.

"Who are you?" he asked

Lucian paused for a few seconds before replying,

"I am the Shadow."

**23**

Alix was about to inquire further when Lucian heard footsteps coming down the alley towards them.

"Stop; which way is your hideout?"

"Uh, the hideout's north of here, but I'm supposed to go to a rendezvous point."

"Where?" Lucian demanded

"This way," Alix pointed to another path, and they hurried quickly down it.

They made their way safely out of the area and were moving down an empty street toward Calixto's shop. Alix peeked out from behind cover and looked at the rendezvous point. Aela and Carn were waiting there, almost completely hidden behind a low stone wall.

Alix and Lucian snuck towards them until they too were hidden behind the wall.

"What happened?" Aela asked

"The Dark Brotherhood was already there waiting for us. At least one of the Thieves Guild members is dead," Alix replied

Carn turned to look at Lucian, "Who is he?"

"I'll explain later, but right now we need to get back to Hjerim."

Aela and Carn nodded, and they set off towards Hjerim under the night sky.

They reached the hideout safely and went inside. Carn locked the door behind them, and they went into the room where Ralof was waiting.

Alix explained to him what had happened, and then they turned to Lucian.

"So who are you?" Alix asked him

"It's a long story," Lucian replied

"Well, we have time."

Lucian nodded, and he began to tell them.

It was the night Lucian's parents had died.

They lived in Morrowind, in a small house in the countryside. His mother was a Dunmer, and his father was once in the Imperial Legion. He did not remember either of their names.

They were sitting at the table, when there was a noise from outside. Lucian's father opened the door to see what had caused it, and an arrow streaked in and hit him in the chest. Lucian's mother started screaming as the bandits came inside the house. She tried to protect him, but the bandits killed her too.

"Run Lucian!" was the last thing he had heard her say

So he did.

The bandits took everything, and then lit the house on fire. Lucian jumped through an open window and ran into the woods. Before leaving, he had grabbed a knife off of the counter. One of the bandits saw him running, and chased him. Just when the brigand was about to catch him, Lucian turned and stood his ground. The bandit laughed at him, and as he was laughing, Lucian stabbed the knife into his neck. The sounds of mirth changed to strangled gasps as blood ran out of the wound. The bandit fell to the ground, dead.

It was the first time Lucian had taken a life.

The young boy turned to run deeper into the forest, but there was someone behind him. A man stood there, dressed in a masked and hooded cloak, with black armor.

"Come with me, boy," he had said.

And so Lucian had followed him.

They had walked further into the forest, until they reached a building hidden in the trees. It was made entirely of stone, and when he asked, Lucian was told that it was called the Midnight Sepulcher. It was home to the Brotherhood of Shadows.

"What is the Brotherhood of Shadows?" Lucian had asked

"You will see," the man answered

They went inside the building, and Lucian saw that the inside was much larger, and mostly underground. The man took Lucian to a room, and there he told him about the Brotherhood of Shadows.

The Brotherhood of Shadows was an order of what he called "Dark Avengers". They helped those in need, and vanquished evil. They did not operate within the law, and were entirely covert, and many of their missions involved assassinations. The man also explained that he was the Grandmaster of the order.

"We are a hand of judgment," the Grandmaster had told Lucian, "Our task is to protect the good, and bring swift and deadly justice to the wicked. Do you wish to become one of us?"

"Yes," Lucian answered

The Grandmaster nodded in approbation, "Then you will become a Shadow."

Lucian had been trained in the arts of stealth, assassination, and combat with four others. He did not know them by name, but they trained and lived together, united by the cause.

For several years they honed their skills, and went on missions for the Brotherhood.

Then, when Lucian was sixteen, everything changed.

The Grandmaster announced that he would be choosing one of them to be the next leader of the order. None of them knew who would be chosen, but they had their suspicions. Most of those suspicions weighed on one of the most skilled of them being chosen, a female from Cyrodiil. However, some of them also believed Lucian would become the next Grandmaster.

When the time came for the Grandmaster to choose, they waited in suspense. Then, the Grandmaster announced that Lucian would lead the order.

That night, the Grandmaster was stabbed in the heart while he slept.

In the morning, only four members of the order were alive and present. Lucian had them gather all their belongings, and they abandoned the Sepulcher, making their way out into the world.

Unfortunately for the young group, that was also the day the Aldmeri Dominion declared war on the Empire. Two of the members tried to help the Empire fight the Thalmor, but were killed in battle. Now, there were only two left. Lucian tried to lead his last remaining comrade to safety, but she died protecting him from a large clan of bandits. After she had fallen, Lucian killed all of the remaining bandits. At the end, he discovered that they had also been the ones who killed his parents.

Lucian spent the next six years in hiding, moving from town to town in Morrowind. Then, he had come here, to Skyrim.

"So, that's my story," Lucian said, "I am the last of the Shadows."

**24**

"Do you know the Dark Brotherhood's plan?" Ralof asked

Lucian nodded, "I think you should know too. As you have obviously discovered, the Dark Brotherhood has taken Windhelm. I do not know why. What I do know, however, is that they have an extremely powerful mage working with them. With his magical expertise, they somehow managed to acquire both the Staff and the Eye of Magnus. Using the combined power of both to open a trans-dimensional Oblivion and Aetherius portal-"

Carn cut him off, "Wait, what?"

"Sorry, I'm getting a bit technical there. Put simply, both of those objects are now here, in Windhelm. There is also a Stormcloak army massed on the other side of the White River. At first, I didn't know why they had not attacked already. They do have a pretty sizeable force, after all. But, from what I know about the magical artifacts in the city, the Staff can be used to unleash the power stored inside the Eye. If this power was released at one time, the blast created by the release of energy would destroy the city."

"So the Dark Brotherhood is threatening to blow up the city if the Stormcloaks attack?" Alix asked

"Exactly, so if we want the Stormcloaks to take back the city, then it's up to us to stop the Dark Brotherhood." Lucian replied

"And how exactly are we going to do that?"

"We'll have to plan it," Lucian said, "It won't be easy, that's for certain. But as someone once told me, with a small group of talented and motivated individuals, anything is possible."

Ralof nodded, "I understand. Also, why are you still wearing that mask? You don't need to have it on in here."

Lucian was silent for a few seconds before answering, "There is a face behind this mask and hood, but it is not who I am."

He got up to walk away.

"I don't understand," Aela said

Lucian turned back to them, "The Shadow has no face. The Shadow is an idea. And I must become that idea."

"Why?"

"Because while a man can be killed, an idea is immortal. The Shadow as an idea cannot die."

Alix woke up that morning to Jack's yelling.

"What is it?" he asked

"Um," Jack said, "I think you guys had better see this."

Alix got up out of bed. Aela was already up, and they followed Jack to the second floor of the house.

When they got to the window, Lucian was already there.

"Look," said Jack, "down by the courtyard."

Alix followed his gaze to see some sort of congregation in the plaza.

"What's going on down there?"

Lucian was the one who answered, "They caught the other thief. They're going to hang him."

Alix started, "Can't we stop them?"

Lucian shook his head, "No, even if we could rescue him, the Dark Brotherhood would surely trace us back to our hideout. There's no point in risking that gambit."

"But, we can't just leave him!"

Lucian was silent for a few seconds before responding, "Too late."

"What?" Jack asked

"He's gone."

Alix sighed and looked solemnly down at the ground before making a lugubrious movement across his chest and muttering something of a prayer.

Lucian couldn't resist a quizzical look at him.

"What?" Alix asked.

"Just," he stopped, "Nothing," Lucian sighed and continued, "You pray for the life of a dead thief, who was just killed by a veritable cult of assassins who dedicate their kills to Sithis, which is an embodiment of death itself. What are you hoping to accomplish?"

Alix didn't quite understand Lucian's underlying message, but Ralof and Aela did. Alix then asked another question rather than answering the one directed at him.

"How do you know the Dark Brotherhood is a cult?"

Lucian scratched his neck nervously, which was the only time any of them had seen him do something denoting uncertainty, "I used to be in it."

They were all silent until Alix continued, "Well, that's a twist."

"Why are you-?"

"They tried to kill me after I decided I didn't exactly agree with their morals," Lucian said, offering no further explanation.

There was a tense silence that followed until Ralof spoke up.

"I have to ask, Shadow, who is your patron god?"

"I have none," he paused, "I do not believe in the gods."

"What do you mean?"

"I know they exist, of course," he added, "But I do not see them as gods. I do not believe in their omnipotence or benevolence, for if they were, then why would they allow things such as this to happen? I don't know where I will go when I die, but sometimes it seems like Sithis is the only viable thing to believe in. I know you Nords will probably go to Sovngarde, but I know not what will become of me. And as such, if I had to choose I would say Sithis, for he is the personification of Death, which I intend to bring to my enemies."

"I understand, Shadow. I hope you will not have to discover them anytime soon," Ralof said

"I do not believe in fate, either. I believe that each one of us chooses our own path, and we are free to make our own choices. If we want a better world, it is up to us to make it, rather than rely on the gods to create a perfect world for us. For our world is far from perfect."

**26**

Astrid walked through the doors of the Palace of the Kings, to where the Archmage and the other senior members of the Dark Brotherhood were waiting. They were inside the central dining and meeting hall, and the large tables had been moved aside to accommodate the large mass of the Eye of Magnus. The Archmage twirled his staff with mirth that did not suit the occasion.

"You know why I have called all of you here today, to discuss our future plans," Astrid began.

The assassins nodded in agreement.

"Early this morning," she continued, "we captured an agent of the Thieves Guild inside the city. Near the site of his capture, two of our mercenaries were found dead, along with another thief. The thief had obviously been killed by our mercenaries, because he was shot in the chest with a crossbow. One of our mercenaries was stabbed through the back with a sword, and the other was killed by two stab wounds from daggers. This is the first time we have had any of our people killed by the so-called Resistance, but I fear it will not be the last. More worrying, however, is what I found when examining the mercenaries' bodies. The one who was killed with daggers, more specifically; she was jumped on and stabbed from above, so whoever did it came down from the nearest rooftop. The nearest rooftop, however, was twenty feet above her. We had guards patrolling the wall near that area, and they would have noticed anyone getting up on the roof, so the only explanation is that whoever did this came over the wall. But how? Our men would have detected them, would they have not? Whoever did this would have to have been a _shadow_!" Astrid's voice rose in pitch and vigor when she said the last sentence.

"No offense, Astrid, but aren't you being a bit paranoid?" Nazir asked

"Being 'paranoid' is why I'm still alive," Astrid retorted.

There was an uneasy silence in the room.

"So what are you trying to say, Astrid?"

"I think that our plot to get rid of him failed. I think that he knows our plans for this city. I think he's coming for us," she said

"But we are the Dark Brotherhood," Arnbjorn laughed, "We are the best assassins in all of Tamriel. Let him come, he will have no chance."

Astrid shook her head, "You may be Dark Brotherhood, but he is a Shadow. He has been trained to be the best, and he has a motive. I believe the Shadow is not just trying to be a hero; I think he is out for revenge."

"I've been thinking," Lucian said.

The members of the Resistance turned to face him.

"Ralof, I'm sure you'll agree with me here, but I think the only way to incorporate our efforts with the Stormcloaks is to make contact with them. The bridge is locked down, so it will be difficult. We will need someone to sneak out of the city and discuss our plans with the Stormcloak commanders."

Ralof nodded, "It would need to be someone gifted in the art of stealth, but it is necessary we keep the Shadow here with us."

All eyes turned to Alix.

He looked up in surprise, "Me?"

"Yes," Ralof said, "you are a thief, are you not?"

"Yeah,"

"It will be a dangerous mission, but I think you will be able. The important thing is, are you willing?"

Alix stood up, "I'll do it."

"Good, you will need to leave as soon as possible, and hurry back."

Alix nodded and went to gather his things. A few minutes later, he stepped outside Hjerim's doors, ready for his mission. Aela was there as well.

"You come to tell me goodbye?" Alix smiled.

Aela shrugged, "Be careful out there, and hurry back."

Alix nodded and pulled his hood up. He began to walk down the snowy street.

"And Alix?"

He turned around.

"Don't die."

The thief laughed and picked up his pace a little.

Alix got to the central courtyard without incident; he had encountered a few guards and assassins, but they had paid him no interest. The snow had finally stopped falling, but its residue still shone stark white. However, being the middle of winter in northern Skyrim, it was still cold.

Now, he had to find a way in and out of the city.

Alix casually walked around for a few minutes, looking for a route he could take. Then, as he was crossing a small bridge, he found it. There was a drain below the bridge under the walls and out of the city. It was covered by metal latticework, but part of it was broken. It looked just big enough for Alix to slip through.

Alix waited until there was no one on the bridge and no guards were looking, and then he climbed over the railing. As he was climbing, his gloved fingers slipped on the icy rail, and he almost fell before catching it again. Now, he hung there by his arms, dangling above the sluice. Miraculously, it seemed no one had yet noticed him. Alix took a deep breath and braced himself before dropping the remaining few feet to the ground.

The impact jarred him, but he quickly recovered.

"Hey! What's he doing?" Alix heard one of the guards say.

Alix turned and sprinted along the slippery spillway, and slid under the latticework. He skidded a few more feet, and then dropped into the frigid waters of the White River.

Alix went underwater for a few seconds, but quickly tore his way to the surface. He pulled in a hasty breath as the biting cold reached him. It was a jolt at first, how cold the water was. Alix knew he wouldn't last long, and he would go into hypothermic shock if he didn't get out quickly. He swam forward and tried to drag himself up onto a large floating plate of ice, but it flipped over and he fell back into the water. Alix pulled himself forward through the water, and now he could really feel the cold biting into him. Alix faintly registered an arrow hitting the water next to him, alarmingly close to his head.

He realized then that it wasn't just his muscles that were getting weaker, it seemed like the cold had crawled into his head and was freezing his mind as well.

As Alix struggled onward, he apprehended the notion that he could not make it to the shore. He was growing weaker by the second.

Alix fought through the icy water, but as he finally came close to the shore, he realized his strength was failing. His head went below the water, and his vision and thoughts were fading into black.

At that moment, Alix knew he had failed.

_Aela told you not to die! You have to do this, for the Resistance, for the Shadow, for the people of Windhelm!_

As he thought this, however, a sudden burst of strength welled up inside of him. He pushed forward a few feet as his new resolve carried him onwards. Then, his newfound strength began to fade as well, and Alix felt what it was like to know he was about to die. He could feel the cold, icy fingers of death creeping into him, and then he stopped.

Alix was ready to take in the fatal breath that would be his last, for he no longer had the strength to pull himself up out of the water.

Alix closed his eyes.

And then he felt someone grabbing and pulling him from above. He thought at first that he was already dead, but then he felt the strong hands wrench him up out of the icy depths, and into the frigid Skyrim air. He breathed in deeply as the two Stormcloak soldiers carried him up onto the shore.

"By the Gods, Is he still alive?"

The other Stormcloak nodded as they set him down on the ground.

"He's not dead," and then turning to look at Alix, "You don't know how lucky you are, lad. My friend Tor fell into those waters when we were rescuing Ulfric Stormcloak, and he didn't come back alive."

Alix took another breath and blacked out.

**27**

Alix woke up in a tent. At first, he didn't realize where he was, and a feeling of panic washed over him. Then he remembered what had happened in the icy river. He shuddered as he once more felt the icy tendrils reaching into him, even though it was merely an apparition.

Alix got up and looked outside at the Stormcloak camp. He was about three hundred feet away from the bridge leading to Windhelm, and there appeared to be a few hundred Stormcloaks in between him and the city.

At least that was somewhat comforting.

"Ah, I see you're awake."

Alix turned to see the speaker.

"Brynjolf! What are you doing here?"

The Guild captain smiled, "I should ask the same of you, but I believe I already know the answer. Why don't you come with me to the commander's tent, and we'll both explain ourselves there."

Alix nodded and followed Brynjolf through the camp. In about a minute, they reached the commander's tent. When they went inside, Alix was momentarily surprised to see Ulfric Stormcloak.

"Greetings," the Stormcloak commander said.

"Ulfric, this is Alix. He was our agent inside the city." Brynjolf said.

Ulfric nodded, "Pleased to meet you," he had a heavy Nordic accent that made him sound almost perpetually angry.

As Alix thought of it, however, he realized he probably was. His city had been taken from him, his closest friend had been brutally murdered right in front of him, and Windhelm was now in the control of a ruthless cult of assassins that would do who knows what with it.

"Now," Brynjolf began, "I believe Alix has some things to tell you. Very _important_ things,"

Alix waited a few seconds, and then began to speak.

"Ever since you were returned from the city, many events have transpired. It is difficult to get information because the Dark Brotherhood has the city under complete lockdown, but this is what we have pieced together."

Alix told him about the number of guards and assassins inside the city, the number of Resistance members, and the location of entry and exit points. Then, he told Ulfric about the Eye of Magnus.

"Yes, I was already aware of that. The Dark Brotherhood has been using it to threaten my city in case I attack. But I think there is something you should know about it as well. As my battle-mages have brought to my attention, the Eye of Magnus is more unstable than the Dark Brotherhood believes. They think that the only way to set it off is to use the Staff, but there is a problem with that. Ever since they transported it here using a dimensional rift, the Eye has grown increasingly unstable. The energy inside it is like a flow of water, once you let even a small amount out, it is very difficult to stop it back up again. That water will continue to push its way out until the dam holding it back breaks. The Dark Brotherhood knows not with what powers they meddle. Whether they want it to or not, the Eye is going to unleash that energy. I know they will not listen to me, we have tried to negotiate, but they are too arrogant and steeled in their own ways to realize what they are going to cause."

"So what are we going to do?" Alix asked

"We," Ulfric answered, "Are going to stop the Dark Brotherhood."

"Well it seems your ideas coincide with ours, because the Resistance has pretty much the same general purpose," Alix almost laughed when he realized how obvious that was, "But, we have also started planning."

Ulfric smiled in approbation, "Good, and what is this plan of yours?"

"Well it's not actually mine," Alix replied, "Ralof, the Resistance leader, and a man known as the Shadow came up with it."

Alix thought he saw Ulfric's countenance change to momentary surprise at the mention of the latter name, but he recovered quickly before Alix continued.

"Our plan involves Resistance members opening the gates and temporarily neutralizing the threat posed by the Eye while letting the Stormcloaks in to deal with the majority of the Dark Brotherhood. We would have to time it perfectly: if your Stormcloaks attacked too early, the Dark Brotherhood would blow up the city. If they didn't attack soon enough, the Resistance would be overwhelmed."

Ulfric nodded, "Have you already planned a time to begin?"

"Actually," Alix answered, "We were going to leave that up to you. However, we do have a signal that will alert the Resistance of when to begin."

"And what would that signal be?"

"Three Lightning Bolt spells cast consecutively. That would tell them to open the gates and neutralize the Eye in ten minutes."

"How soon will they be ready?" Ulfric asked

"They're ready now, as soon as you have one of your battle-mages give the signal, we can take back the city." Alix replied

Ulfric thought for a few seconds, "Two hours; in two hours we will begin. By that time night will be falling, and it will reduce the Dark Brotherhood sentinels' visibility."

Alix spent the next two hours waiting. He felt like he was charged up, and he was ready for all his energy to be released.

One of the Stormcloak runners came up to him. In Skyrim, winter nights came early, so the runner had a torch with him for light.

"It's time."

Alix nodded and jogged off into the night. The Stormcloaks were gathered near the bridge, and were waiting for the gate to open. Ulfric gestured to the battle-mage standing next to him, who then raised his staff into the night sky.

Lucian saw three Lightning Bolts shoot into the sky. He turned to look at the Resistance members gathered behind him.

"It's go time," Aela said as she readied her bow.

Ralof stepped to the front, "Okay, everyone knows what to do. We go to the gatehouse first, and link up with the Stormcloaks. Then we go on to the Palace of the Kings to neutralize the Eye."

The Resistance members nodded their assent.

Ralof smiled, "Alright then, let's take back our city!"

The group headed on their way towards the gatehouse. They moved quickly and quietly, with the Shadow at their lead. The first Dark Brotherhood mercenary they encountered was stabbed in the throat as he turned an alley corner. The Shadow pulled his ebony dagger out of the dead body and they continued on. Within a few minutes they were at the gates and positioned to attack.

Lucian nodded at Aela, who notched an arrow. She drew a bead on one of the Dark Brotherhood assassins at the gates.

"Go," the Shadow whispered.

Aela's arrow glided through the night and hit the assassin in the heart. He crumpled quickly, and the assassin adjacent to him turned around at the noise.

Only to be shot and killed in the same manner.

The Resistance members broke from their cover and charged the gates. They did not cry out, so as to have some element of surprise. Ralof's greatsword beheaded one of the mercenaries who tried to stop them, and another was killed by the twin midnight blades of the Shadow.

There were only six guards at the gate to begin with, and they were taken by surprise. Their blood soon stained the stone street on which they were killed.

Ralof and Carn quickly opened the gate, and the Stormcloaks charged across the bridge.

The battle had begun.

**28**

The blue-clad warriors swarmed across the bridge. The time for surprise was over, and the Dark Brotherhood was forming up for battle. Their red and black uniforms lining up on the opposite side of the courtyard in which they had fought the city guard.

The Stormcloaks ran through the gates and started to arrange themselves into a battle line.

"They're going to attack!" Ralof yelled

"Let them come," Lucian said.

His eyes remained fixed on the advancing mercenaries and assassins as he spun his ebony daggers.

"When they do, it will be their end."

The Dark Brotherhood soldiers rushed forward silently as the Stormcloaks charged to meet them. The two waves crashed against each other, one ice-blue, the other blood-red, and both made of human beings.

Lucian's blades darted in and out of bodies, his outfit making him almost invisible in the darkness.

Alix ran across the bridge, having decided to take part in the battle he helped create. He drew his green sword and found Aela and the other Resistance members in the fray.

"Good to see you found your way back!" Aela called

"Good to see you're still-"

"Duck!" she interrupted

Alix dropped to the ground, just as the huntress's arrow whistled over his head, punching into a Dark Brotherhood assassin.

Alix didn't have time to thank her before the battle clawed itself their way, and they were both caught in the fighting. Somehow, they met up again and were pressed back to back fending off enemies.

The Dark Brotherhood fought fiercely, but they were outnumbered by the city's rightful owners. They began to fall back towards the center of the city, leaving a swathe of blood and bodies as they went.

The Shadow cut through their lines like a black whirlwind, scarlet streaks staining the air as he went. It was like he was untouchable; anyone who came close to him was cut down.

"We have to keep them from detonating the Eye!" his voice carried across the noise of battle.

The other Resistance members rallied towards him, followed by several Stormcloaks. The group pushed through the enemy lines and made their way towards the Palace of the Kings. Before they could get inside, however, they were enveloped in fierce combat by a group of assassins.

The Shadow dispatched the nearest one and began to climb swiftly up the side of the building. He made his way up to a window, broke it, and leapt through. He landed quietly on the stone floor of the Palace of the Kings. The sounds of battle resonated through the building from outside. Currently, there didn't seem to be anyone in the hallway he was in, so Lucian crept silently towards the next room.

As he came around a corner, some sense alerted him of the sword coming towards his heart. Lucian dodged the blade just in time, and swept his daggers up into a fighting stance.

"You _are _good," Nazir said, "a pity we have to kill you."

The Redguard feigned an attack to his left, but then twisted and swung his sword right. Luckily, Lucian's off-hand dagger was there to catch the blow. He then brought his twin blade over and used them both to create a scissor movement that slid down Nazir's steel sword and wrenched it from his grasp.

"A pity you tried," the Shadow said before plunging both daggers into his chest.

Nazir's eyes widened in surprise, and he fell to the ground dead.

Lucian turned away from the body and continued stealthily down the hallway.

Aela, Alix, and the rest of the Resistance had fought off most of the Dark Brotherhood mercenaries around them.

"We have to get inside and help the Shadow!" Aela said

Ralof nodded, "You two go in there, and I'll stay here to help with the battle.

Carn pulled his axe out of a dead mercenary, just before being hit in the chest by an arrow.

"No!" Ralof bellowed

Carn stumbled backwards, and slumped against a wall.

Aela spun and loosed an arrow towards the man's shooter, a dark elf woman dressed in the outfit of a Dark Brotherhood assassin. She fell over, the arrow that had ended her life protruding from her body.

Ralof ran over to the young man collapsed against the wall.

The Nord opened his mouth to say something, but Carn stopped him.

"Leave me, uncle. Sovngarde beckons, it is my time," he coughed up blood

Ralof realized that they couldn't do anything to help him, "You fought bravely."

"Thank you, uncle. Finish the fight."

Ralof nodded and turned away from his dying form. He hefted his battleaxe and leapt into the fight afresh, fueled by his newfound resolution.

Lucian heard voices up ahead and crept up to the corner. Veezara, the Argonian swordsman, had his back turned to him, and Festus had just started walking farther down the hallway. Veezara was close enough that Lucian could have reached out and touched his reptilian form.

"Why won't they let us join the fight?"

Festus turned to respond, "Astrid wants us inside here so that we can stop the Stormcloaks if they get through the ones outside."

Veezara sighed, but it sounded more like a hiss.

Lucian slipped out from behind his cover, his daggers in position to assassinate the assassin.

Just then, they heard footsteps running their way.

Veezara turned around to see the Shadow right in front of him.

Lucian tried to take him down with a quick thrust, but the Argonian was too fast. He had already drawn his sword, and Lucian barely had time to dodge his first blow.

As he was readying a second, Alix and then Aela came running around the corner.

The assassins were distracted for a fraction of a second by their sudden appearance, but that was all the time Lucian needed. He brought his left-hand dagger down to slash Veezara's leg. He stumbled forward, and Lucian slipped around him to stab a dagger in his back. Veezara fell forward onto the ground as the Shadow withdrew his blade.

Festus shot a Fireball at them, and it hit the wall. The explosion knocked Alix to the ground, but gave the Shadow more momentum as he flew through the air towards the mage.

Festus looked up at the dark figure flying towards him, and tried to cast another spell. He wasn't fast enough. The Shadow hit him at full force, and landed on top of him on the ground. One quick flash of the black blades and the assassin was dead.

Lucian stood up and turned to the two newcomers.

"You're a bit late," he said sarcastically

Alix shrugged, "Better late than never,"

Lucian nodded, "How goes the battle?"

"There's no question now that the Stormcloaks will win," Aela answered, "As long as the Dark Brotherhood doesn't-"

"They won't," Lucian interrupted

The trio continued down the hall until they came to the last set of doors.

"These doors lead to the main chamber," Lucian explained, "That's where the Eye is."

Alix took a deep breath and twirled his sword. They could hear a low humming sound coming from the room, most likely created by the Eye.

"Let's end this."

Unheard by the others, Aela murmured the last line of the prophecy to herself:

"Out of the darkness, a Shadow will rise."

Lucian opened the doors.

**29**

Ralof brought his battleaxe down on the only remaining mercenary in the courtyard. The surviving Dark Brotherhood soldiers had fallen back to other areas of the city, and most of the Stormcloak forces were pursuing them.

"That's the last of them here!" he called out.

Ulfric nodded, "Then we need to get inside the keep and help the Shadow. It's up to him now to save the city."

Ralof, Ulfric, and about a dozen Stormcloaks opened the large iron doors to the Palace of the Kings and made their way inside.

The thief, the archer, and the Shadow walked through the great iron doors and into the main chamber of the Palace of the Kings.

"Ah," Astrid turned to look at them, "You have come," she smiled, "I knew you would."

The Archmage twirled his staff, "It's too late you know. You can't stop us. It is your fault, you have doomed this city. We know what powers the Eye holds, and we intend to unleash them," he laughed, the sound distorted into a metallic din by his mask, "Hail Sithis!"

"You're insane," Alix responded.

"Maybe," the Archmage said, "Maybe not. It doesn't matter. What matters now is that _you will die!_" he enunciated the last three words harshly, and his voice rose in pitch with each one.

But the Shadow wasn't listening to him. He didn't even hear the Archmage's words. His gaze was locked with Astrid's as he withdrew his two ebony daggers from their scabbards, spinning their black blades in the air.

Just then, the Ulfric, Ralof, and a dozen Stormcloaks rushed into the room. One of them came just in time to be hit by a throwing knife intended for Alix.

Babette cursed and leapt down from her position above them. She moved as if to dart towards Ulfric Stormcloak, but she didn't get far.

"Fus Ro Dah!" the blast of pure kinetic force hit her. Her small vampiric form threw her across the room, where she hit a window. The glass shattered, and she fell through it to where the icy depths of the White River waited below.

Several Dark Brotherhood assassins who had been hidden in the room tore out of their hiding places and attacked the new arrivals.

Ulfric called out to Astrid over the sounds of battle, "This city was built by Ysgramor himself when he led the first Nords to Skyrim. _And_ _I will protect it!_"

More Stormcloaks were sifting into the room now, their blue uniforms spreading slowly across the room like the freezing waters of the river below.

"You think the Shadow will protect you!" Astrid screamed, "He says he is the last, that he is more than a man! He lies!"

Her gaze leveled with Lucian's, "You are not the last Shadow, Lucian. On that night in Morrowind, when the Grandmaster was killed, I was there. I killed him Lucian, because I should have been chosen! It seems we are the last two of a dying breed, and one of us will die today! Only then will _I _be the last Shadow!"

Lucian's countenance hardened, "You are a traitor Astrid, and you will die. It is my last promise; this day will be your last."

"You will try," she shot back, "but you will fail."

"You deceive yourself, assassin. I will kill you."

Something changed then. Astrid couldn't see the Shadow's face, but she could sense it. The words he spoke were true. Her face showed fear, only for an instant, but it was all Lucian needed.

The Shadow smiled behind his mask, and he shot towards her like a black arrow. He had only one goal in mind now.

It was time for the end.

**30**

Alix and Aela were side by side fending off the attacking assassins. The newly appeared Dark Brotherhood combatants had had the element of surprise on their side, and had killed several Stormcloaks in their initial attack inside the room. Now they were fighting fiercely, but they were outnumbered. As more Stormcloaks entered the room, they were pushed back towards the opposite wall. It was apparent now that they had no hope for victory, but they were determined to take as many enemies as possible to the grave with them.

Arnbjorn had thrown himself into the fray, and had killed several Stormcloaks with his battleaxe. Now he was surrounded by them, and he succumbed to their many blows.

The Archmage looked at the battle around him, and realized that they couldn't win. An arrow whistled towards him, but he stopped it with a spell. He turned to where it had come from, and sent a blast of magical energy towards the shooter.

Aela was hit by it and flew back, her head smacking against the stone wall. Alix saw it and realized she was definitely concussed and unconscious, if not worse.

A burning feeling of rage welled up inside of him, and he ran towards the Archmage.

The Archmage turned back to the Eye, raised his staff, and began the spell that would end them all.

Alix recognized what he was doing, and redoubled his efforts. He pushed aside a Stormcloak, and ducked underneath the blow of an assassin. The Archmage still had his back turned to him. Alix hefted his green sword, and with a cry, plunged it into the Archmage's chest from behind.

The Archmage roared in pain, the sound distorted and made metallic by his mask. It was as if two giant swords had slammed against each other, and one of them had broken.

The sword had broken through his already weakened wards, and the residual energy flew outward from him. It drove Alix to the ground, and pushed back all the combatants within a ten foot radius.

The fighting temporarily stopped as they all turned to the source of the gust of magical energy.

The Archmage dropped his staff and turned to look at Alix. He reached behind him and pulled the sword out of his body. He held its green blade in front of him, blood coating the front half in a scarlet sleeve. The Archmage's robes began to darken from his lifeblood seeping out of the wound.

He tried to cast a healing spell on himself, but his energy was depleted. The golden sparks sputtered quickly out of existence.

He moved the sword as if to try and hit Alix, but the young thief scooted away across the floor, out of his reach. The Archmage fell to his knees and dropped the sword.

With his fading strength, he tried to use all of his energy in one final spell, but he did not have enough. In his panic, he tried to cast almost every spell he knew in the hope that one would work. Instead, the magic turned against his already weakened form. He began to disintegrate into ash as the rampant magic rushed through him.

The bleeding stopped, but he was already dead. Within a few seconds, nothing remained but a pile of black dust, still smoking with shadowy residue. On top of the pile was the Archmage's mask, nearly the same color as what was left of his body.

The battle then resumed for a few more seconds, but the assassins were demoralized and weakened. Those that were not killed surrendered and threw down their arms.

The reclaimers of the city believed they had won, but it wasn't finished just yet.

Astrid turned and ran. She jumped up and quickly scaled the outside wall of the construct.

Lucian was close behind her, and he climbed the stone walls just as she was spun around to look at him.

The Shadow drew his twin blades, and she hers.

"There is nowhere left for you to run," Lucian said.

"I say the same for you. It is time to see who is in fact the _Shadow_."

"You will die, Astrid."

"If I am to die this day," she replied, "you will as well."

"So be it."

The Shadow sprinted across the stone roof towards her, and she at him. One clad in black, the other in red. They ran under a gray sky bleeding white snow.

Both of them quickly dodged the other's first blow, Astrid sliding under Lucian's, he jumping out of the way of hers. They both rose again, opposite of where they had been before.

Then the true battle began.

They moved faster than it seemed possible, their motions a blur. Each of them had only one goal in mind. Every blow was dodged or parried, and neither could gain the upper hand.

It went on this way for almost a full minute, each matching the other in skill. They moved in and out of the fatal dance of blades, but neither one had yet been touched by the cold metal.

Lucian's countenance burned with hate, and he let its red fury wash over his movements, fueling them with more strength and ferocity. Astrid wasn't beaten though, only put on the defensive. She expertly blocked the assault, and none of Lucian's attacks could strike her.

Lucian realized why all his attacks failed. She knew him too well. She could predict his every move just as he could hers. To win, he would have to do something she could not anticipate.

He knew what he was going to do, but he would have to execute it perfectly. The slightest mistake by either of them would bring nearly instant death from the other.

Just as she parried his attack, Lucian pulled his blades back. But he did it too quickly. He hadn't formed them into a defensive position yet. Astrid saw her chance to end the fight, and reflexively took it.

Lucian's instincts screaming that he was going to die, that he had made his final mistake. But Lucian knew better.

The Shadow smiled behind the mask. Astrid sensed something was wrong, but it was too late.

At the last second, just as Astrid's blades were inches away from his body, Lucian made his move. He twisted to evade one, and flashed his blades up in front of him. His left-hand dagger hit Astrid in the wrist, and her weapon fell from her grasp. As he brought his other arm around to make the killing blow, Astrid realized it was over, but she wasn't done.

She slashed her remaining dagger down just as Lucian's came at her.

Lucian closed his eyes.

The blades hit their targets.

All was silent until Lucian opened his eyes. His right hand dagger had plunged into Astrid's chest. He could see it was a fatal blow.

But Astrid's blow had hit him as well. It was only a scratch, but it was all she needed.

The second thing he noticed was Astrid's twisted smile.

He looked at the blade in her hand that had wounded him, and he realized why she did.

The Blade of Woe's enchantment killed with only a scratch. It would drain his vitality until it took his life.

Astrid looked into his eyes, and he felt her last heartbeat. A single tear leaked out of her eye, and she fell backwards as Lucian slowly withdrew his blade.

Her body fell backwards off the roof, and landed in the river below. Her red outfit in stark contrast with the ice blue waters as her body descended below the surface.

The Shadow had kept his promise.

**31**

Lucian went back down to the main chamber. He could already feel his life force draining out of him.

He knew what he had to do. The Archmage had not been able to set off the Eye, but he had started the spell. The artifact's destabilization had been greatly accelerated, and they had only minutes before its energy was released.

He walked through the crowd of Stormcloaks towards the place where the sphere was hovering. Alix saw him and ran over to where he was.

Lucian could see the heads turning towards him.

"The leader of the Dark Brotherhood is dead," he said it loud enough to hear, but the statement wasn't triumphant.

He walked over to the remains of the Archmage, and picked up his staff. He staggered forward, and Alix stopped him from falling.

He looked into the thief's blue eyes, and Alix saw the wound. He understood what Lucian was doing.

"The Eye will detonate in less than five minutes. I know of only one way to stop it now. I will use its energy to create another portal, take it through, and detonate it on the other side," Lucian announced.

"No! If someone is going to sacrifice themselves to save the city, it should be me," Ralof said.

The Nord moved so as to take the Staff, but Lucian stopped him.

"Please Ralof," Lucian replied, "You are a brave man, but this is my sacrifice to make."

He nodded and stepped back.

Lucian turned to Alix, who was tending to Aela's unconscious form. He had made a decision.

"Alix, take this," he handed him a scroll, "Inside it is a map. Open it when the time is right."

Lucian then held out his daggers, and Alix took them as well.

"Thank you, Shadow."

Lucian turned to the Eye. It was time.

He raised the Staff towards it, and the blue tendrils of energy shot from it and spread across the metallic surface. All the onlookers backed up a few feet. Lucian felt the energy flowing from the Staff while his own was leaving him.

The Eye was charged; all that was left was for the last burst to be unleashed. That would send it through the portal to unleash its energy in the heavens. Lucian knew that once he did this, he would reach the point of no return.

Lucian took a deep breath and felt the Staff send its last surge of magic. He could feel it tugging on his existence.

The Shadow closed his eyes and let go.

**Epilogue**

Alix waited a few days after it was all over. Then, one night, he opened the map the Shadow had given him. He told Aela he was going somewhere; he didn't give a location. It took several days, but he arrived there. Alix recognized it from what Lucian had told him. He went inside.

He found the room he had been directed to. He retrieved the things he had been told to. He put on his new outfit, and it fit him perfectly. He sheathed the weapons Lucian had given him, and read the notes that had been left behind in the room. He stayed in the building for three days, learning all that he could. Then, on the third day, Alix left the Midnight Sepulcher.

The guard at the border outpost between Morrowind and Skyrim had been waiting patiently in the moonless night. The snow was falling, and the cold wind bit into him through his armor.

The guard turned his head, thinking he had seen movement.

After a few seconds, he decided he hadn't.

"Must have just been a shadow," he muttered quietly to himself.

**Afterword**

Before I move on to the acknowledgements, I want to make some things clear. I did not write this book for money, and I do not intend to make any off of it. I did not write this as a school assignment, I wrote it because I wanted to make something, and writing is one of the things I enjoy doing.

In the beginning, I intended this to be a short story. "Twenty pages" I said. Twenty then turned to forty, forty turned to eighty and, well, you know how it goes.

I started writing in August this summer, and I finished in November during my 8th grade year of school. It's been a long journey that I have put a lot of work into. Will I write a sequel? Maybe; that depends on public opinion. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading _The Last Shadow_.

-_Davis Tyler-Dudley, November 20, 2012 _

**Acknowledgements**

I want to thank everyone out there who made this possible, and the names following this aren't the only ones. I couldn't have done this without the help and support from all of you.

I want to thank my family, for supporting me in this endeavor. All of my friends and classmates who knew I was writing this helped as well. Thomas Rooney assisted me by adding helpful input to the story and helping me come up with some of the ideas. Dr. Melinda Bray made this book possible by helping me to become a better writer and inspiring me to write something of my own. Everyone at my school who has taught me over the years, and help me develop into who I am now. Finally, I want to thank Bethesda Softworks® for creating the world of Tamriel, the world in which this book takes place (and also for creating the wonderful game series of The Elder Scrolls®).


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